…and Souvenirs
by GoatEatingToilet
Summary: A companion piece to wolfgirl2001's "...and Brassieres". This fic is centered around Kim Kelly and how she deals with the changes wolfgirl2001's tale will bring.
1. Chapter 1 (Shared POV)

_Author's Note:_

 _When **wolfgirl2001** posted her alternate ending fic for episode 2 (titled '…and Brassieres', go check it out!), the idea to write a companion piece quickly popped into my mind as I read it. I contacted her to see if she was okay with the idea and, well, here we are! These two tales are not going to be heavily intertwined (we will try here and there, and the stories will be consistent with one another if nothing else), but they are going to be covering the same universe, the same night, the same party. While her story will focus on Lindsay and Daniel, I will center in on Kim, her reaction to the changes wolfgirl's story will bring and I'll introduce a new character who can _ maybe _help her through the ride. This will be my first time working with another fanfiction writer and I'm really looking forward to it!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1 (Kim/Luke POV)**

"It's like a running gag or something, man. I swear we have the worst luck against you guys."

Kim Kelly heard the new voice coming closer and closer to her with each word, but she didn't really care enough to look at who was speaking. It was the same person who had loudly, eagerly called Nick out by name, the same person who Nick had, just minutes ago, introduced to an equally uninterested sounding Ken and it was the same person who was undoubtedly going to be introduced to her in just a few seconds. Again though, she didn't care. She thought this party was lame, she hated most of the people here (at least a little bit) and the beer completely sucked ass. Still, Kim was vaguely aware of all that was happening around her as she sat on the Weir family couch and scorned the room in front of her with an angry and expectant gaze. Daniel was here, she knew that, and now it was simply a waiting game to see if she could spot him and whatever little slut he was parading around in her place. Their breakup wasn't nasty, it wasn't drawn out and it wasn't even all that loud, but it was the final time they would be dumping one another... or at least that is what Kim kept telling herself. Then again, she had told herself that exact same lie every single time the two broke up over the last year and it only took a matter of days for the words to become a distant afterthought as Daniel's tongue worked his way into her mouth.

 _Not this time,_ she hissed inside her own head. _Not this-_

"Hey, Kim," Nick's neighborly tone greeted her ears and irritation instant spread to every fiber of her core.

" **What?** " she snapped in a demanding pitch that fell just short of a yell. She didn't have the patience to meet some new dumb friend of his and a part of her wanted to make that point quite clear in her response. When she rolled her eyes towards the two a moment later though, a small feeling of contrition pinged in her head as the sight of Nick's new buddy. He was at least six-feet tall, maybe a little more, had a slight build to his body and short, wavy dark brown hair that she was sure would fall over his eyes if he didn't have it combed back the way he did. It was his eyes that really caught her attention though. They were a light-blue, almost the same color of a clear sea that Kim had seen on the cover of so many magazines, and just getting locked into them for even a second felt the slightest bit memorizing to her. There was something deep about them, like they could read every word and thought she was keeping locked up in her head and their owner was attempting to analyze it all. Of course, he didn't really look like he was trying to figure anything out... she thought he looked more astounded than anything. But, even with the dumbfounded look on his face, the appeal of his features were clearly shining through to her and each lineament was still complimenting each other.

A thought ran through her head as a still silence seemed to envelope the three. A thought that set her in the opposite direction of her 'no more Desario' stand from mere moments ago. _This guy is perfect... perfect for making Daniel jealous! Except I might've just screwed it all up..._

Kim was, to say the least, extremely discombobulated when it came to the issue of her relationship with Daniel. There were times when she loved it and times when she hated it, times when she thought it would kill her and times where she thought she would die without it. Until something truly big happened either way though, she knew that they would be locked in this eternal loop of breakup/makeup and they wouldn't be able to move forward... as a couple or individuals. That concern (and the underlying fear that it brought) would have to wait for another day to shine in the spotlight though, because, just like that, Kim was totally set on getting back together with her ex. The problem was that nothing had really worked out up to this point. Not the continued bickering that sometimes led up to a hot and steamy makeup session, not the innuendos of finding a hot date for the weekend... hell, not even teasing Jimmy into making advances towards her had seemed to light a fire under Daniel's ass. With each failure she had considered truly calling it quits, but this, she was sure, would work. Even if she had to go a little far and get handsy with this stranger within eyesight of Daniel, this would _have_ to work.

Nick's face shifted and he took a step back, visually quite aware that Kim was in one of her moods and the need for distance was imminent. "We, uh- I mean, I wanted to... nevermind."

"No, hey!" Kim called out quickly, trying to stop their retreat and releasing a quick, awkward laugh to accompany her painfully fake smile. "What's, um, what's up?"

Nick still looked apprehensive for a moment, and his friend just seemed like he didn't know what he should do, but a goofy smile soon returned to Andopolis and he quickly resumed with his introduction. "So, this is Luke. Luke, this is Kim. Luke and me used to play basketball back when I was... well, you know."

A warm, albeit small, smile flashed across the newcomer's face and he nodded to her slightly. "Nice to meet ya."

 _Oh great. Another former jock. What a surprise._ Kim couldn't help but let the peeving dig cross her mind. For the most part she absolutely hated jocks, current and former, and Nick was a rare exception. But, at the same time, the thought that Luke had the earmarks of a cute smile to go along with his looks crossed her mind and made her instantly wonder how striking a full smile would be. The speculation was pushed away when Nick inadvertently brought up a sore subject.

"Hey, do you know where Daniel is? Or Lindsay? I kinda wanted to have Luke meet the whole gang."

Kim scoffed and performed another notorious eye-roll before commenting. "Daniel could have drank himself into a coma for all I care anymore, and that brain _isn't_ one of us, so don't even bother with her."

"Hey!" Nick's tone went up slightly, gaining a bit of defensiveness to it. "Come on, she is our friend, Kim. I don't know what your problem is with her but, like, ya know, she's cool, so why can't you be?"

"I _am_ cool, Andopolis! We just don't need some lame-ass poser trying to hang with us." Kim caught sight of Luke's eyes darting around the room as he took a big gulp from his plastic cup. Things were becoming uncomfortable and he was desperately looking for an out, but Kim couldn't just let this slip by.

"Here, sit down." She smacked the portion of sofa next to her. "I''m sure one of those two losers will came around here sooner or later." She crossed her arms over her chest and began scowling at the room of drunk teenagers in front of her again. Nick plopped down right next to her and Luke beside him.

"So, you guys were both basketball players? What happened with you, Luke? You don't look familiar at all. Drop out or somethin'?" Kim questioned, wanting to avoid giving the floor to Nick (because she was sure he would just talk about something stupid).

There was a small chuckle from next to her and she had to suppress the urge to just jab Nick in the side with her elbow.

"Not exactly," Luke replied and Kim gave him a quick glance, long enough to catch the hint of a smile she heard on his voice. "I, uh, I never played basketball. It's for the best anyway. I probably just woulda ended up being a benchwarmer since I can't hit the broad side of a barn, let alone a hoop. No, Nick and I met cause we were both buying pot from the same guy. I recognized him as the player who scored the winning basket against Lincoln, knocking us out of the first-round finals. It's funny; we were talking about this just a few seconds before we came over here and I mentioned that you guys always seem to beat us... it's like some bad joke or something."

His last sentence was completely lost on her as she processed the last bit of information he had shared before that. _So, not a jock,_ her voice lulled in her own head, slightly disappointed in the news. _That kinda sucks. Daniel would've blown a gasket over that, but..._

"You're from Lincoln High?"

He simply nodded in answer.

Her jaw dropped a little at his confirmation. "That's ballsy- a Lincoln student showing up to a Chippewa High-filled party. You're either pretty brave or pretty stupid."

"Probably a little of both, but definitely more one than that other. Which one do you think has the bigger portion?"

The two were looking at each other as they talked, both leaned forward on the couch slightly so they could see one another while Nick sat in-between them.

The behemoth in the middle loudly cleared his throat and butted in, "Anyway..." There was a pause after he spoke, as if he was gauging the situation and trying to figure out if Kim and Luke were getting ready to argue or flirt with one another. To be fair, neither of them knew the answer to that concern either.

"We've kinda hung out every now and then since that day. Smokin' pot, listening to music. We even play hoops sometimes at the park. It's nice because he really sucks and I always win." A smile spread across Nick's face as Luke's mouth formed a half-smile, half-bewildered guise.

"Ohhhhohoho. You better shut up, Nick," the fellow pothead jokingly warned through a laugh, lightly pushing his friend's head to the side for good measure.

Even though she wouldn't have even been able to stand it a few minutes ago, Kim found herself cracking a smile at the antics she was currently involved in. She wasn't worried about spotting Daniel or scheming to get back with him and make it look like his idea, she wasn't concerned that Nick may or may not have a small crush on Lindsay and be fighting for her place in the group, she was just letting herself have a little fun... which she didn't think would happen at this party at all.

The sound of someone beginning to play a few keys on the piano suddenly stole her attention and she released a laugh when taking note of the pianist at helm.

"Ohhh..." she managed through her laughter while Millie Kentner continued to find her rhythm on the eighty-eights. "Oh no. That's that chick from the assembly, man." A few more giggles escaped her and, while Luke looked confused, Nick picked up on what she was talking about.

Millie suddenly began belting out lyrics with the tune she was creating and when she did, the song she was going for became crystal clear. "Jesus is just alright with me! Jesus is just alright, oh yeah!"

"Oh my God, she sounds horrible!" Kim exclaimed, not at all embarrassed that a snort of laughter made its way out with her words.

"No, no, that's pretty good," Nick disagreed and clumsily stood, looking as if he was wobbly enough to just fall back in his seat.

Luke threw his arms up to catch him if that were the case, but the ex-basketball star kept his balance and took a sloshy step forward, then another and another before his movement gained more regularity to it. Nick made it to Millie by the time she finished the second set of verses and began bopping to the tune of the song, making motions to other partygoers like he wanted them to get involved as well. Without warning, he began howling out the lyrics right along with Millie, bobbing his head with every word.

On the couch, Luke and Kim simultaneously looked at one another with an odd cross of amused astonishment written all over their faces. After a moment, they both began to crack up and turned their gaze back to the horror show playing out in front of them. While his attention was focused on their mutual friend blundering lyrics and having a good time, Kim took the opportunity to slyly get a better look at Luke. He was, in a sense, very model-like (or at least model-like in a way that Kim wouldn't mind staring at all day) and even if it was only from a profile-side view, she finally got a glimpse of his full-on smile. He had a cosmic smile... or at least that was what she believed the best way to describe a great smile was. Her mother had said the same thing about Burt Reynolds' smile when they were watching Somkey and the Bandit on TV and Kim kinda had to agree with the statement, as painful as it was to agree with her mother on anything. She blinked hard, twice, shaking herself out of the memory. If she was going to use this guy to get Daniel in a huff then she needed to get the wheels moving and fast. Missing an opportunity for Daniel to notice her getting a little friendly with another good-looking guy was something she wouldn't have much time left to rectify if it happened. Kim could always smell when a party was about over and this was was definitely beginning to sour.

"Hey, you can scoot a little closer, ya know?" she beckoned towards Luke, trying to sound luring without overdoing it. "I don't bite."

"Yeah, that's what they all say."

A grin started to grow on her lips at his returned banter and it only became wider when he slid almost within shoulder-to-shoulder range of her.

 _Shit, even if I don't end up making Daniel jealous tonight, maybe I'll at least get to make-out with a hot guy. Forget just being handsy,_ she thought.


	2. Chapter 2 (Shared POV)

**Chapter 2 (Kim/Luke POV)**

"Okay, okay, so, like, who do you listen to?" Kim asked through her laughter.

The two had been talking about random subjects for a few minutes, each getting to know the other a little bit more while continuing to tease one another with modest sexual innuendo. For the first time that night, she wasn't thinking about Daniel... and had momentarily lapsed on what her ulterior motives for Luke were. There was something that was instantly drawing about him to her and, once she realized how much she had veered off course, she immediately began to scold herself.

 _Listen Blondie,_ she chided in her head as Luke spat out a few cliché bands that she somehow knew he would, _Daniel could turn around any corner at any minute and see you. Do you just want to look like you're smiling and having a good time or like he needs to get you back before you move on? Start pulling him in or this night's gonna be a bust._

Taking a cue from her own motivation, Kim arched her back slightly and stuck out her chest a little more as Luke spoke, twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers and curving her smile provocatively. If there was one thing Kim was confident she was able to be, it was sexy; and by Luke's reaction, she was hitting the mark in spades.

He had stumbled in his listing of one band to another, jaw hanging agape as he gave her new posture a fair up and down, darting his eyes away when they stopped at her chest, just as she hoped they would. She wasn't wearing a skin-tight shirt, there wasn't a bit of cleavage showing (even with a scoop neck cut it didn't go low enough), but even in a white and brown irregularly stripped shirt (the second favorite in her lackluster wardrobe), she knew how to use her assets to her advantage... and she wasn't ashamed to. Kim may not have had the biggest bust out of all the girls she knew, but hell, she wasn't sporting an A cup either.

Her grin spread a little more when he brought his head back up and met her eyes with his, a light hue of red flushing across his cheeks in embarrassment. For someone who was giving nothing less than the impression of a smooth talker, this sudden show of humility came across as very cute to Kim. Her venture to bewitch him seemed to be rolling without a hitch (almost effortlessly, really), but was she the only one working some kind of magic? It dawned on her that, even though they had not been talking for long, there wasn't a word said or action taken that she wasn't charmed by... at least a little.

"The, um-" He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly, tilting it a little to the side. It looked like he was trying to shake a few cobwebs loose to Kim, which only made her more confident in herself.

"The music we listen to can reveal some of who we are without saying a word, ya know?"

As he spoke, his voice regained the composure that she was sure was faltering at the start.

"Oh yeah?" She was twirling another tendril of hair and immediately winced after her words, fighting the strong compulsion to blast out a curse word or two as well. Somehow, while spiraling her locks, several rogue strands caught around her ring and she had yanked them from her scalp upon moving her hand to her lap. The wince turned to a scowl as she immediately grew angry with herself. This was supposed to be her 'thing' and she was already messing it up. Her gaze, which had went from Luke to the coffee table in front of the couch, returned to him.

He had undoubtedly caught her slip-up, as the two were looking right at each other when it happened, but he carried on without drawing attention to it. "Yeah! Like, take Nick for example. He listens to a ton of rock and he really gets into it a lot of the time. His leg'll start tappin', head noddin'... hell, he'll usually start drummin' on his thigh to the beat when he's fully into it. He gets so enthusiastic you can almost see the notes coming out with each imaginary snare hit."

Kim smiled, thinking of how Luke had a point. Nick really did get into a song when it hit him right, closing his eyes and jamming away as if he was envisioning himself as part of the band.

"So, while he listens to stuff like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Skynyrd, they reflect shades of intensity and rebellion in a person."

Kim noted that two out of the three bands he just listed, bands she knew for a fact that Nick liked, were also in Luke's series of favorites from earlier.

 _So, do you have a little intensity and rebellion in you, too?_

She turned in her seat, facing him directly and resting the side of her body against the ugly plaid couch, propping the side of her head with her hand. With just her facial expression, Kim knew she could make her current body posture say anything she wanted. A blank stare could mean complete and utter boredom and disinterest. A harsh glare could signal annoyance, or outright anger if she hit the look hard enough. Neither of those were the message she wanted to convey though, so she instead lightly bit her lower lip, pulling it back slightly while making sure to keep the corners of her mouth at a small upward angle, masterfully mixing a come-hither look with curiosity.

"More than that," Luke continued, his eyes scanning her face and seeming to soak in the look she was giving him, "Nick is a romantic. His taste in rock music tells me that, too."

Kim would have scoffed at the statement if she hadn't already known it to be true. Heidi Henderson was proof enough that Andopolis was a sappy romantic.

"Of all the times we've just hung out, listened to music while gettin' high, there are two songs he always plays the most."

"Let me guess," Kim cut in, fairly certain that she knew exactly which songs Luke was referring to. " _Ride On_ and _Save Me_?" The respective AC/DC and Queen songs were almost too perfect of a fit for how Nick dealt with a failed relationship.

"Those would be them," Luke affirmed, matching her smile with his own. "Those two songs tell me he is a tad romantic. They're not exactly the best example, but I can only work with what I get. Him playin' them as much as he does tells me he's a heartbroken romantic."

In addition to being Nick's _ex_ -girlfriend, Heidi was a constant reminder that he fell too hard, too fast sometimes and, as far as Kim knew, he never discussed the disastrous breakup with anyone who wasn't there with him right when it was happening, so why was Luke hinting that he knew Andopolis went through some serious heartache?

Sheer curiosity begged her to ask her next question. "You seriously got that just from the crap he listens to?"

A simple nod in reply made her giddy with a sudden thought.

"Okay, alright, do me next!" Considering their suggestive banter, a better fitting collection of words couldn't have fallen out of her mouth if she tried. She knew the request for a sudden switch may have seemed cold-hearted, but this side of Nick was a complete downer and Kim just didn't have time for it this evening.

Luke pulled his leg up and almost swiveled on the cushion, now facing her directly with their legs butted up to one another. There was an eager look upon his face, one that read like he had been anticipating her invitation before she even thought to ask it. "Okay, Kim, tell me a few bands or musicians you like to listen to."

A few names had already been brewing in her head ever since the subject was first broached. She didn't want to sound like a broken record and just repeat what he already had, so she purposefully picked out some of her favorites that were never previously listed. "Um, Van Halen, The Who, April Rain... I mean, wine. April Wine." She giggled uncharacteristically, not at all being able to help it as she felt her buzz grow more and more. Her fourth beer of the night was well on the way to being finished and while the first two were uneventful, she swore she was starting to feel a little drunk with the third one and it really started to take effect this time.

"Okay, now how 'bout some bands you listen to but you like to keep secret?"

"Ohhh, so you wanna know some of Kim Kelly's secrets now?"

His smile grew wide and he closed his eyes, laughing a few times. "Yeah. More than a little." When he looked at her again, his face was simply beaming, and she knew she had him right where she wanted him.

 _Finally!_ she chirped in her head. _Took damn long enough. Now I gotta keep him here._

"Hmm..." she mused exuberantly, "Well, of course there is my nickname namesake, Blondie. I have to pretend to hate her or people probably won't even call me Kim anymore. I like Rod Stewart, too, but I'm, like, the only one of my friends who does and then..." She trailed off, looking as if she was really considering a good one for the last spot. When it came to her, she gained a momentary look of euphoria that was instantly replaced by seriousness. "Okay, this is a big one and if you tell anyone, I'll kick your ass, okay? I mean it!"

"Alright." He held his hands up with a sly smile, conceding to the condition.

"Bonnie Raitt."

"Really?"

Luke attempted not to ask through a bout of laughter, she could hear him trying to stifle it in his throat, but he failed miserably.

"Hey! Don't be a jerk. She was my first concert ever and, yeah, I still think she's great." She punched him in the arm a little harder than she had intended to and a faint feeling of alarm ran though her as she envisioned her impromptu aggression ruining all her groundwork. All it took was his continued ear-to-ear smile for relief to quickly wash out her concern. "No more free secrets for you. If you want any more, you're gonna have to work for 'em."

"Oh I'm sure I will."

Luke went on to explain his interpretation of Kim based on her music listings. Mainly, he focused on her three secret contenders. To him, they spoke volumes about a side of her she didn't exactly want on display. Two of the artists were female and the third sung more middle-of-the-road soft rock than anything. He ascertained that Kim mainly hung out with a group largely dominated by men who were more into hard rock and didn't give female vocalists a lot of play time in their collections, so it made sense that she wouldn't expose those picks without some prodding. There was also something tamer about the three choices that he was sure reflected some part of her that would be at odds with a part of how she presented herself outwardly, though he wasn't exactly sure of what.

Kim stared at him as he spoke, almost completely enamored with the way his mind was able to join pieces of a picture-less puzzle together from something as simple as a few favorite bands.

"How do you do that?"

She didn't confirm or deny that his findings were correct with her question, but the pure awe in her voice indicated that he was at least on the right track.

"I learned it from my dad, mainly. He studies lots of stuff in relation to psychology. Behavior analysis, linguistics, cogniti..." He trailed off without finishing and simply shrugged, shaking his head and scrunching up his face in a dismissive fashion for a brief moment.

The fact that he had trailed off only registered momentarily for Kim, as she was trying to hang on to the pronunciation of a word he had just said. "Lingui... ling-what?" she asked, giving up on trying to say the new term. "I've heard of, like, linguine before, but not whatever the hell you just said."

Luke grinned and looked down at his hands for a moment. He tried to muffle another laugh and again failed spectacularly. "I'm not laughin' at you." He raised his head back up to meet her eye to eye and when he did, she felt a small sensation ping in her stomach. She wasn't hungry, but...

"It's just..." Luke continued, trailing off again, but keeping his eyes locked into hers. "It's a little nerdy, innit? I mean, are you _really_ interested in what linguistics is?"

His question stopped Kim in her tracks and made her really consider what he was asking. He had a decent point, really; she did consider this kind of talk to be 'geek speak' and kind of hated talking about anything in that category because it both made her feel like she was back in school and, even worse, dumber than a bag of hammers because it almost always flew over her head. But he didn't sound like a geek when he spoke, he certainly didn't look like any geek she had seen before (at least not at McKinley) and he didn't speak to her the way some of the geeks in school did... the way that made her feel intellectually inferior and angry enough to punch their faces in. Moreover, she had never met a geek who liked to smoke pot. That alone netted him more than a few points.

 _If Lindsay smoked pot then maybe_ she _would be cool..._ Kim thought, becoming easily sidetracked with the mix of ideas, _but I've seen the way she looks at Daniel, the way she grins just after they talk when she doesn't think anyone is looking. No, I've gotta make sure she-_

"Uh, Kim?"

She snapped her eyes up, looking a little lost and realizing that she must have been thinking for quite a while longer than she should have.

"See? It's so nerdy and boring that your brain shut off just thinking about it."

"No," she shook her head. There was something about him that made her want hear whatever he had to say about... well, whatever he wanted to talk about, nerdy or not. "No, I really want to know what ling-whatever is."

"Linguistics."

There was a smirk on his face again, but the way he wore it and the how he was looking at her made all the difference in how she perceived the expression. She didn't feel judged, but more like he was flirting with her just by his gaze alone.

"You were close with linguine though, I'll give ya that. But instead of pasta, linguistics is a study of language. Ya know, like what it means in form, meaning and context. And then we have kinesics, which a lot of people call body language..."

Kim nodded slowly, trying to remain interested but already feeling her attention begin to wane.

As if he could see her curiosity declining right before his eyes, he gave her an example that brought her right back to the forefront.

"Like, when you were playing with your hair just a minute ago and then you seemed to get mad at yourself. It kinda looked like you were trying to play a role that isn't you: a bubble-headed, simple blonde who just wants to have fun and can't be anything other than cute. Gauging from your reaction, that is anything but you and I know from experience that it's hard to imitate what you hate without losing it. Now, that's not to say you aren't cute, because you are, but- no, scratch that. You're beautiful... but ditzy? Nah, not buyin' it."

Kim didn't interrupt him, she didn't react with anger or irritably defend herself against his words... she merely listened. It wasn't that she was mesmerized by him as much anymore as she was growing slightly fearful that maybe he _could_ see her deepest, darkest thoughts, feelings and the words that were always on the tip of her tongue but she dared not let escape. She prided herself on the fact that she wasn't an open book, that nobody could read her (well, except for Daniel, but he had time and experience on his side), so the idea that a complete stranger might be able to was a little scary to her.

"I got the same vibe when you put on a fake smile and tried to sound as happy as you could when Nick and I were about to turn tail and run. And when Nick asked you if you had seen Daniel, something clicked in your head. I could see it. It wasn't hard to tell that you were annoyed with the guy, but there was more to what you said... and _how_ you said it."

Kim wanted to ask what he meant, but at the same time she didn't. This whole thing was quickly becoming a little too real for a Friday night party, even a lame one like this, and deep in some far back crevice of her mind she knew what he was referring to anyway. After Nick had asked about Daniel, she recalled that she said something about how 'he could've drank himself into a coma for all she cared anymore' and that simple last word must've been what gave her away. Anymore...

"You have a relationship with him, maybe current, maybe former," Luke continued, and something in his eyes shifted after his last word, "or maybe it's in a place where you don't even know where you two stand right now, but ever since Nick mentioned him, maybe even before, he's been on your mind."

Kim shifted uncomfortably, switching her positioning so she was facing the table in front of the couch again. She almost slumped back into her seat once both feet hit the floor, slouching down even further into the cushions of the couch. Swirling the last of the liquid in her cup, she looked at it for a long moment before tipping the cup to her mouth and finishing the contents. After that she simply crossed her arms over her chest. Kim didn't have a response, she didn't want to respond... she simply didn't know what to do.

"Shit," Luke sighed from beside her and situated himself on the couch accordingly. "I went a little overboard there, huh? I get so into showing off with that sometimes that I don't even understand I crossed a line somewhere until I am well over it."

He sounded genuine enough to her in his words, but she was certain he would continue to connect the pieces in his head and eventually figure out she was just looking to use him... which would make her the bitch... again. She was so tired of always being called a bitch for something she did or said. This is the only way she's even known to act, the only way that has ever gotten her any worthwhile results. Was that so bad that everyone had to think she was a bitch because of it?

"Hey, I'm... I apologize. This is usually a fun little party trick that breaks the ice for me. Of course, it works better when I do it on a group of people and no one feels like they're being picked at. Look, I really- I didn't mean to be a jerk and invade your privacy or anything."

 _I never said you were a jerk_ , Kim thought, that one single word sticking out to her in his apology. He must resent a stinging negative stereotype as much as she did, she reasoned.

"You're not a jerk, Luke. That's all just... a lot to take in, okay? It's a little freaky that someone who I just met guessed all that stuff about me." Again she purposefully did not say yea or nay to any of his speculation. Even though most of it was right on the money, she felt awkward about letting him know that.

He nodded. "Yeah, no- that's... I get it."

"Tell ya what..." She made sure she had herself as collected as she could before turning to face him. "How about you get me another drink, we meet back here in about a minute or two and we don't talk about psychology stuff anymore?"

He reached out to take the cup from her outstretched hand, impressions of a muted smile returning to his lips. "I think that sounds doable."

The two went their separate ways and Kim walked right to the Weir residence bathroom, locking the door after she entered. Putting her hands on either side of the countertop sink, she leaned into the structure and let her hair tumble forward, shrouding her face as she sighed long and hard. Truth be told, she still didn't know how to deal with what had just happened; her brain was still processing it all. When she broke it down and went over it in pieces, it became substantially easier for her to grasp as a whole though. Overall, he hadn't said anything that was outlandish, insulting or really all that false. He had even worked in a few sly compliments, but just the mere fact that he was pretty much in her head, fingering through the filing cabinet of things better left hidden, was something Kim was still having trouble coming to grip with. If he could read her that easily, who else could? How many of her classmates already had?

She lifted her head, running a hand through her hair to pull back her renegade mane before looping her front locks behind her ears to make sure it all stayed out of her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to see what Luke saw. Was she keeping parts of herself a bit repressed from her friends? Well, yeah... but that was how she was sure it had to be. Was she really beautiful like he said? She wasn't so sure... especially not with the pained expression of perplexity written across her face. Certainly not ditzy, he was right on that.

 _I'm not a brain like Lindsay, but Bs and a few Cs ain't too bad either, right?_ There was a half-smile at the thought of reassurance. _Don't forget the one stupid D_ , she reminded herself and groaned aloud in protest.

If anything, Luke had at least provided her with an interesting twist in an otherwise dull night... and a whole hell of a lot to think about over the weekend.

A commotion started up outside the room a minute later as Kim was pondering how to pick up where she and Luke had left off without bringing any awkwardness into the picture. She was sure she knew at least one of the raised voices. No, both of them. It was Carl and Ken. Their distinct drawls were unmistakable.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kim sighed and reached for the door handle.


	3. Chapter 3 (Luke's POV)

**Chapter 3 (Luke's POV)**

Luke sat on the couch for a lingering moment, absentmindedly balancing an empty cup on either knee. He should have been getting beer refills for Kim and himself, he should have been thinking up ways to avoid the inevitable awkwardness when (and if) they resumed their conversation, he should have been looking for his friend, Keith, just to check in and keep an eye on him. He should have been doing any and all of those things, but instead he was taking a moment to appreciate how tightly Kim's jeans hugged her curvy, round ass; each cheek having a slight bounce with every step she took. As it stood now, he may have just scared her away (a fact that he was well aware of, and subconsciously trying to bury the tinge of disappointment that came with the realization), so if this was going to be his last view of her, he was at least going to try to enjoy it. It wasn't as if he was a shallow individual (well, maybe a little), as he appreciated how sexy a woman's mind could be ever since he started using his psychology savvy to wow the opposite sex. But he had to admit that Kim was blessed with some very eye-catching facets... even when she wasn't overtly putting them on display.

 _Well, you blew that, dumbass,_ he inwardly chastised, watching her disappear around a corner with a flustered look overtaking her features once again. Releasing a hefty sigh, he secured his hold on the clear tumblers and stood up, fully expecting to look like an idiot for the next ten minutes, holding an additional cup of beer for someone who wasn't coming back.

"Oh for fu..." he trailed off, seeing a rather large group of party-goers gathered around the keg after he turned around. After standing off to the side for a few moments and simply staring at the crowd, somehow hoping he could project his impatience and disperse the gathering, he briefly considered just going back to his seat and waiting for the herd to thin a little before trying again. A quick glance at the couch shot his impromptu plan all to hell.

"Fuck's sake..." he finally finished upon the sight of a rather handsy couple occupying the spots where he and Kim were seated just a minute prior. The two were really going at it, and had just flopped down on the sofa from the looks of it; practically laying on top of one another in an obscenely crass display of lust. Upon returning his gaze to the (now even longer) lineup for the keg, Luke couldn't help but note that a few others had taken notice of the couch couple. One in particular looked exceptionally alarmed and then angry at the spectacle in front of him. Luke continued to watch the leather jacket-clad individual, whose James Dean-esque resemblance he could subtly appreciate, and did what he had always done since childhood: mentally dissect what was happening in front of him.

Most of the other onlookers, all of whom were men, seemed quite entertained with the show the brazen duo were putting on, but the dusky-haired spectator was a different story altogether.

 _Could it be..._ Luke mused, already placing the gears together in his head to see if they fit, _that the Jim Stark wannabe over there just caught sight of his party date making out with a newcomer?_ He dared to shoot another glance at the subject of his interpretation, but the man was looking in another direction now, one that Luke promptly followed.

 _Ehhh..._ he thought as his eyes shifted, _it's clunky. The gears are turnin' here, but it's clunky as hell. Wouldn't he be stormin' over there by now if that was his girl? I sure as hell would..._

At first, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, as all that was in the direction Mr. Dean was looking towards were moving bodies, but he soon caught on to what the target must have been. Or whom, rather. An average height brunette girl stood just behind the half-wall structure in the living room; she herself staring in a completely different path. Switching gears, Luke tracked her fixed stare, wondering how many cogs this well-oiled machine was going to have before it all came together. To his surprise, the girl was watching Nick and Millie chat about something by the piano; the duet having ended a while ago but something obviously trapping the two in casual conversation. As he watched, his eyes somewhat darting around as if trying to locate a missing piece to all of this, a thought popped into his head; a thought asking if this was some weird, cosmic rendition of the six degrees of separation theory and he was just a connection or two away from spotting someone who was staring at him!

He grinned and released a solitary laugh at the wild idea, amusing himself. Distracted, Luke rose one of the empty tumblers to his mouth and attempted to drink what was not there. Another laugh escaped him when he looked down and realized what he had done, shaking his head at how absorbed he could get with his whole process. It was then that he became aware of his body's reaction to his technique. He had crept into a flight or fight response while he was scrutinizing his surroundings. It happened every time and he was always too focused on trying to figure out things in his head instead of calming the growing storm inside his body. All of the usual suspects were there: muddled hearing, tunnel vision, speeding heart beat, quick, short breaths and the damned worst case of dry mouth a person could ever have. What he had done with Kim on the couch minutes earlier was small potatoes compared to the feat he was trying to perform with the stranger, (after all, Kim had practically provided him with all the answers he needed to make his conclusions) and now he was paying the price.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on taking long, deep, controlled breaths, thanking the powers that be that the shakes were a symptom that had ceased years ago. After a few seconds, he shot a hopeful glance back to the crowded keg, desperate to wet his dehydrated mouth and throat. The mysterious rubberneck was gone, but when Luke watched a familiar face exit the assembly of drink-seekers, he released a slight sigh of relief. Nick wasn't the only Norseman that Luke was acquainted with and, even if the only reason he really hung out with anyone from McKinley was to drink beer, smoke weed and maybe bum a few cigarettes, the connections he made had some amount of depth to them. Stroker was a prime example of this. They weren't close, they didn't share any kind of history between them, but they did have a few shared interests; one of which was partying. When a good party was on the horizon, no matter what end of town it was on, one would invite the other to it without fail.

Luke watched his kegger comrade raise his full cup in salute to another person entering the queue and called out to him. "Hey! Stroker!" His voice sounded a little weak and raspy, but it was enough to garner the boy's attention.

"He-hey... Luke," Stroker replied, the smile on his face spreading a little further, already almost at its max, and his long hair drifting back a bit in the slight breeze his increased step created. There was something about his returned greeting, just the slight stutter, that struck Luke as odd. He sounded jovial enough, but he had momentarily tensed when he noticed who had called his name.

"Give me a little of that, would ya?" Luke dropped his empty cup into Kim's and gestured the combined pair towards his friend's glass. "I'll probably die of thirst before I ever make it to the front of that line." His voice still sounded painfully strained, even he could hear it now.

Stroker laughed, seeming just as laid-back as ever and not phased by how Luke sounded like he'd just finished off a carton of cigarettes, pouring nearly half of his drink into his friend's translucent container. "No prob, my man. Glad ya made it tonight. Haven't seen ya in a few weeks. How've things been?"

"Good, good." Luke commenced to gulping down half of his drink, leaving the cup only a quarter full. The river of gold liquid felt glorious as it hit his mouth and throat; the returning moisture a much more divine treat than the sour alcohol. "You?"

"Ah, you know," Stroker shrugged, "Becky dumped me, school still sucks and some asshole stole my car last week, but say levy. It's all good."

Luke stared at him oddly for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the words 'say levy' had to do with anything, before concluding that he must have meant 'c'est la vie' instead. French was obviously not Stroker's strong suit. There was no use in correcting him, Luke rationalized a moment after considering the action; it really didn't matter.

"That beer's shit." Stroker motioned to Luke's cup, sloshing the contents of his own in the process. "I don't think I could get drunk off a whole keg of this crap."

"Yeah," Luke replied, still taking in the statement but acknowledging it immediately. He suddenly blinked in recognition. "Yeah, actually you're right. I'm not even buzzed and I've had like, I dunno, a couple glasses, at least."

"Mm-hmm," Stroker nodded, an almost haughty grin of gratification on his face.

It was a look Luke was well accustomed to, as Keith, his best friend, would wear it like a crown whenever he bested Luke in their friendly debates. The similarity sparked a sudden interest in him.

"Hey, have you seen Keith anywhere? I kinda lost him a few minutes after we got here. Started talkin' to this really hot chick and, hell, I haven't even tried to find him since then."

Stroker all at once appeared stressed and fidgety, scratching the back of his head and awkwardly averting his gaze to the floor. "Yeah, um... about Keith. He's... outside in the backyard. Talking to a tree." He raised his eyes back to Luke's, concern now joining the list of looks that crossed his face.

"Outside, talking to a tree?" Luke questioned, the smile on his face faltering at the indirect clues Stroker was providing him.

"Well, ya see... he kinda went..."

There was an agonizing pause from the long-haired youth and Luke could swear that the rest of the room seemed to drown out around them. He couldn't hear the chatter of intoxicated teens nor the record on the turntable. The people surrounding them became blurred as his attention focused and he hoped not to hear the three exact words that were spoken to him next.

"...over the moon."

The expression was usually applied to convey overt happiness, but when used in connection with Keith, the idyllic idiom took on a darker meaning. It was, in many ways, a sad comparison more than anything, as Keith being 'over the moon' meant the teen had overindulged in either drink or drug and was acting belligerent, crazy or a mix of the two. It was only after the world-famous Who drummer, Keith Moon, overdosed on a sedative that was meant to help him deal with alcohol withdrawal symptoms that Keith's friends began to coin the phrase in relation to his behavior and the causation of it.

"Aw, shit," Luke sighed, raising his empty hand to his forehead and rubbing at his temples with his thumb and ring finger, beginning the process of calming himself from an impending anxiety attack. "Take me to him."

* * *

A thunderous raised voice echoed to the back door as Luke followed Stroker outside, the phrases 'Hey! Do you wanna go?' and 'I said 'do you wanna go'?!' clearly audible, though the responses were too muted to hear, and he turned slightly as if he was considering going back in to investigate.

 _Never mind_ , he thought, turning back into the obscuring darkness of the night, _it's just two drunk McKinley kids and you've got a bigger problem to worry about._


	4. Chapter 4 (Kim's POV)

**Chapter 4 (Kim's POV)**

Kim fumbled with the door for a moment, trying to unlock the thing but merely turning the knob back and forth from her hold on the lock instead of actually doing anything. The egress was equipped with a round turn-lock that was embedded in the middle of the knob. While she had no recollection of having difficulties when she sealed herself in, the struggle to get out was instant and, under better circumstances, would have been comically outrageous.

"Fuck!" she huffed, momentarily contemplating just how embarrassing it would be to have locked yourself inside of someone's bathroom, at a party full of people, and needing to call for help to get out.

 _Couldn't just be a push-button lock, could it? Oh, fuck no..._ Kim criticized in her head, not making the situation any better.

The loose handle rattled in her grip as she tried to make the contraption work the way it should. Changing tactics and leaning the full force of her body into the latch push-and-twist, the handle clicked as it was shoved back into place and Kim found that the the fixture was now collaborating with her efforts, turning with a twist of her thumb. Still bearing the full weight of her body, the entryway swung open after her umpteenth curl of the handle, almost throwing the girl out onto the floor.

As she exited, she looked back at the door, wearing a look of contempt that she normally only saved for _living_ things that pissed her off so much, so quickly.

When she reached the end of the hallway, leading to the living room, she was greeted by the sight of a clustered group of drunk teenagers ogling over the two men in the middle of the action; Ken and Carl.

Carl had a reputation about him, that much Kim knew for sure; he was creepy, weird and most of the time just downright repulsive to any girl he tried to hit on. He also liked to fight, especially when he was drunk. The term 'liquid courage' never had a more apt embodiment than Carl. Ken, on the other hand, was usually far more laid back when under the influence and it took either a whole lot to rile his feathers or just the right touch. From what Kim could see, Carl had the magic touch and it was about to cost him more than he looked to be able to chew in his condition.

A quick echo of 'hey, hey, hey' entered into the fray before anything could even start and Daniel rushed toward the two, pulling an advancing Ken back just in time.

Kim let out a 'pfft' of ridicule and rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she was disappointed to not see a fight go down and either Ken or Carl be possibly injured, it was just that her ex running into save that day was, as she would put it, 'typical Daniel bullshit'.

Seeing him jump into action, almost on cue, made her think of all the other times he would always have to be the star, the hero... the guy who 'fixes' everything.

 _Funny,_ she thought, _he's never been that fast to try to fix us, to stop us from arguing. Why would he though? There's no way to show off if there's no fight. No way to make me look stupid or crazy in front of other people if that happens._

Kim had, inadvertently, went off in entirely the other direction with Daniel, as she had so many other times that night. Equal time spent missing him and hating him and she still didn't know where she truly stood on the issue of 'them'.

It took all of twenty seconds to diffuse the situation, but it was still clear to see that Carl was still riled up and just itching to start trouble with someone else, somewhere else. Kim watched as Daniel pulled the seasoned drunk aside to talk with him separately.

 _Daniel probably did that old fart a favor,_ Kim reasoned, _Ken doesn't play around in a fight._

She was speaking from experience, as she had witnessed Ken trade blows with a few jocks and, despite how physically unassuming he was, he usually got the better of them.

A sly smile spread over Kim's lips as she caught sight of Daniel's disapproving grimace and the fact that he seemed to be focusing it towards Lindsay. While her view of the not-to-be fight was horribly skewed due to her angle, she pretty much had a straight shot of both Lindsay and Daniel from the side, able to read their movements and facial expressions over hearing their words.

Thrilled with the notion that the brunette newcomer had somehow caused the whole mess between Ken and Carl and was now going to get a verbal lashing from Daniel, Kim couldn't avert her eyes from the events playing out in front of them. To watch Daniel basically eviscerate Lindsay's doe-eyed crush on him by showing his true colors would have just been extra icing on the cake for how Kim's night had suddenly turned for the better, and while the Brain's head dropped, gaze poignantly being driven to the ground, Kim's hopes rose.

If Lindsay hadn't been a rich, poser wannabe who drooled just at the thought of Daniel, then maybe she would have had sympathy for the girl. If she had taken the hint and stayed away when Kim had first bared her fangs, the blonde may have even felt a little _guilty_. Neither were the case though, so Kim continued to bask in the perceived drama unfolding in front of her.

At least, that was, until Daniel did the unthinkable. With a single, simple action, he turned Kim's world on its head.

Her face changed from lively and unabashedly nefarious to wholly crestfallen as she watched Daniel slowly, gently cradle Lindsay's chin with his fingers and lift her head up so they were meeting eye to eye again. He had said something to her then; something that Kim desperately wished she was within hearing range of because, whatever it was, it made Lindsay's face light up with a smile and a blush dot across her cheeks.

Kim wasn't enjoying this anymore, oh no; she was actually doing all she could not to explode in front of the entire room. In that moment, all she wanted to do was scream and yell, to call Lindsay a bitch, a slut, to toss her around by her hair and show her just who she was fucking with. Hell, if she had a beer in hand, she likely would have thrown it at the couple. The idea made her remember something that had been pushed to the back of her brain the moment Ken and Carl started shouting at one another.

 _Luke! Where the hell is Luke? And my beer?_

Desperate to have someone to wrap her arms around the waist of and steer in the general direction of Daniel and Lindsay, Kim 's eyes darted all over the living room, fiercely looking for any sign of her blue-eyed suitor. While the thought occurred to her that anyone would do, she had already primed Luke for the role and it needed to look authentic, not some last minute bullshit. Daniel may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he wasn't a complete idiot either...

 _Besides, you need someone you can look really into as well... and Luke's not half bad._

Kim shook her head at the thought, a look of anger weaving into her features as she finally concluded that Luke had bailed on her. Either that or he was with some other girl, and God help both of them if he was. She spun around, fully intent on releasing her frustrations on her party beau if that was the case. She stopped at the first room on her left (avoiding the cursed bathroom doorknob at all costs, no matter who was in there) and threw open the door. She was expecting to catch someone off guard, hell _anyone_ , but the room was empty. A quick peek around hinted to her that this was likely Lindsay's bedroom. Stuffed animals everywhere, cabinets lines with blue ribbons and geeky trophies... though there was a cute mouse-type one. Kim briefly entertained the idea of trashing the Brain's room, but dismissed the notion when a far better one entered her mind. Lindsay would pay for flirting with Daniel, Kim assured herself, but it would just have to wait until she caught the bitch alone at school and gave her her beating.

She was already tired of looking for Luke and the thought of trying the other two rooms was not as alluring to her as having a smoke was. The constant up and down of the night had worn on her nerves and she knew that a surefire way to calm them was always in the form of a cigarette between her lips. She touched her hands to either side of her jeans, feeling the pockets and being both relieved and burdened. She had her lighter, she could feel the instrument resting against her thigh at the bottom of her pocket, but her pack of smokes was nowhere to be felt. She groaned aloud begrudgingly, remembering that she had left her pack in her coat pocket... which she had left in her car on the other side of the street.

Kim left the bedroom, slamming the door shut as she did. Even though the action was slightly satisfying, it was hard to really hear the impact over the collective roar of the party-goers and thus dampened the enjoyment somewhat. The plan was to get herself another beer, see if she could maybe bum a cigarette from someone and go outside and enjoy the hell out of it. If she couldn't get a smoke, she would go to her car, but either way she was committed to the idea of a nice, long drag to ease her down again. When she was this stressed, she knew that that first slow, romanticized inhalation of smoke was almost as good as getting drunk or having an orgasm. Almost.

As she stepped into the living room once again, trying to prepare herself for whatever she may see Lindsay and Daniel doing, there was a moment of comfort that neither individual was within sight. That comfort quickly changed to agitation again as her brain began to wonder if the two had snuck off to make out or fuck somewhere. A hasty scan of the room revealed that that conclusion was, at the very least, half wrong. Lindsay was near the keg, standing next to her geeky little brother and talking to him, but it was clear to see that his eyes were firmly on Cindy Sanders. Lindsay was out of the way, but people were starting to gravitate towards the keg again and Kim didn't trust herself to be within punching distance of the brunette without causing her bodily harm. To make matters worse, they were just a few feet away from the pile of coats, most of which amassed there after all of the wall hooks were occupied by the first arrivals, so Kim couldn't even sack a pack if she wanted to.

 _So much for another beer or bumming a cigarette,_ she complained in her head.

Almost facetiously, Kim stuffed her hands in her pockets and stomped her way to the front of the Weir residence, once again abandoning her plans and making due with what she could. She pulled the lighter out of her pocket and opened one of the front double doors, slipping out and turning to close it. She rested her head against the barrier briefly, trying to figure out exactly how the night had gone to complete shit so quickly, and turned around to a sight that sent her into a silent panic. Daniel was standing right there!

His back was turned away from her and his form was slightly hunched over, leaning against the wrought-iron guardrail that ran along the porch. Tendrils of smoke drifted to the space above him and Kim immediately knew that he must have been in a smoking trance. While getting lost in the moment and drowning almost everything else out to simply enjoy a cigarette happened to her every once in a while, it seemed like the daze overtook Daniel anytime he smoked alone. It was as if he just zoned out for a bit and forgot that the world was still spinning.

Frozen, Kim had no idea what to do. This could either be a golden opportunity or a ride on the highway to hell. With how things had been falling downhill over the past few minutes, she was more inclined to go with the latter. Rage began to bubble in her system as she thought of the shit he had just pulled in the house, as she remembered that this was the kind of shit he _always_ pulled, not just when they were broken up, and she came dangerously close to convincing herself to give him one hard shove, to push him over the guardrail and watch him tumble over and flop onto the ground in a confused heap. The two-foot fall wouldn't kill him... hell, it probably wouldn't even hurt him considering it would be his lower extremities that would hit the ground the hardest, but she quickly had to swallow her anger put on a fake face when she caught him snubbing out his spent smoke and tossing the butt into the yard. She knew Daniel was going to turn around and it was too late for her to either go back inside or to her car without him noticing, so, ready or not, she would just have to grin and bear this confrontation. First things first though: she needed a cigarette. He obviously had them, and therefore a smiling, serene Kim would be facing him when he made a one-eighty. This was gonna hurt no matter what, and she knew it had to happen sooner than later with how far he had already gone with Lindsay, so why not mooch a butt off him beforehand?


	5. Chapter 5 (Luke's POV)

**Chapter 5 (Luke's POV)**

October was always a wild card for Chippewa. The residents were either blessed with a lingering temperate climate to ease into the fall with, or the chill of the forthcoming winter would rear it's ugly head and require warmer clothing that much sooner, sometimes even before Halloween. This year was an odd mix, almost alternating between warm and cold every night, but this evening at least felt more bearably brisk than anything. Luke was actually thankful for the slight chill. It was a welcomed change from the overload of warmth his body had produced while trying to analyze the intriguing situation in the living room, and it wasn't truly cold enough to require a coat right away, so Keith should have been fine in that regard at the very least.

"Sounds like the shit's startin' to hit the fan in there," Stroker commented as he and Luke walked into the black abyss of the night. There was probably a porch light or something they could have turned on so they weren't stumbling around in the dark while their eyes adjusted to the decreased brightness, but neither teen knew where it would be.

"Yeah, well... it better hold off 'til I get back in there. I have a little unfinished business to take care of."

With what was going on inside, Luke didn't know how much longer the party would last and he wanted to at least see if he could get Kim's number before the night falling to shit caused them to part ways. Stroker laughed awkwardly, nervously. Luke assumed he was waiting to be asked just what Keith took and where he got it from, but Luke didn't care about the details at the moment; they could be sorted the next day. His only concern was the location and condition of his friend.

"Damn, man, are you sure he's out here?"

Not waiting for a response from his stoner companion from another campus, he called out into the night.

"Hey, Keither!" Luke shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to steer the sound in the direction he wanted it to go. He had yelled the name he called his close friend since childhood, when he thought the mixing of first and last names (Keith Ether in Keith's case) was absolutely brilliant and hysterical.

A returned shout cut through the dimness and guided the two teenagers in the right direction.

"Over here!"

As the two neared the spot where the sound emanated from, Keith spoke again, this time in jest warning.

"Careful, Luke, I'm waterin' the plants over here!"

"Aw, jeez..." Luke sighed, coming to a complete stop at the words. The sudden silence allowed him to _hear_ his friend performing the duty he just cautioned him about, much to his dismay. Stroker heard the sound as well, and immediately began to crack up in a roar of laughter.

"Who's that?" Keith's voice boomed, obviously alarmed at the new sound. This set Luke slightly on edge, as he knew how unpredictably jumpy being altered could make his friend. He could be normal one second and a screaming blur of fists the next.

"It's Stroker, man. Is Mark still out here with you? Come on, we came to take you guys inside to the party."

"Nuh-uh," came the simple reply from Keith, followed by the sound of his zipper being done up. "There's people in there."

Luke released a snort of laughter at this. "Well, yeah Keither, it's a kegger." His eyes were starting to adjust to the dark, and he could make out the shape of his friend's body approaching the spot where they stopped. He couldn't get a clear read on Keith's face, but he did look somewhat agitated.

"AND?!" Keith suddenly shouted, causing Stroker to jump beside Luke. "Do you know 'em?! I don't know 'em!"

"Hey, hey, calm down, alright? Everything's cool out here, Keither, so let's keep it that way."

"I ain't goin' in there with people I don't know, Luke. Fuck that! They probably wanna kick my ass or somethin'."

 _Oh good... Paranoid Keither. My favorite,_ Luke lamented to himself. When Keither went 'over the moon' there were a few different routes it could go, and none of them were all that great. Paranoid Keither was actually Luke's second least favorite, trumped only by Angry Keither. Coincidentally, Paranoid could lead to an appearance from Angry... and Luke was seeing the telltale signs of that happening. He looked around the yard for a moment, trying to see if he could spot any lumps of dark in the grass before he made his next suggestion. "Hey, um..." He turned his attention to Stroker for a moment. "This person, you know, whose ever house this is, they don't have any dogs, right?"

Stroker merely shrugged. "Shit if I know, man. I can't even remember who lives here."

"Greaaaaat," Luke released sarcastically. "Try not to sit in any dog shit, then. Hey, Keither, take a seat with us. Let's talk about this, bud."

Sometimes it took a slow, juvenile approach to reach his friend and Luke knew that; everything had to be stopped before Keith spiraled too far out of control to be corralled in again.

All three men sat down, Stroker taking the most time to make sure his spot was clean of any canine bodily waste if there just so happened to be some anywhere.

Along with the crisp October air, the sky was fairly clear, only a scattering of clouds making an appearance every now and then. With their absence, even the partial moon was glowing with a brilliance that bathed everything in a light glow. The two newcomers could now appreciate the illuminating ray with their sights adjusting to the darker surroundings.

"Okay, alright!" Keith suddenly spat out, his voice coated in guilt instead of anger. "I... I tripped over the stupid sprinkler and busted it. I feel bad... now they can't water their lawn. That's why I was, you know, 'watering' those flowers over there."

"Ooookay," Luke elongated his response, trying not to laugh at his friend. He peered over at Stroker and found the teen vibrating with stifled laughter.

Not being able to help himself, Stroker asked the most obvious next question. "You didn't 'water' anywhere here... right?"

Keith shook his head. "No, not yet. I should probably get something to drink to, you know, refuel."

"Hey, great idea, man. Let's go inside, get a drink and chill out for a bit. The yard'll be fine for a while, I promise."

The opening wasn't great, but Luke was hopeful that his friend would take the bait and allow him to both keep an eye on him and get back to the party before they were just walking into an empty house.

"I told you I don't know any-"

"You know me, you know Stroker, you know Mark... I guess." Luke quickly cut in, attempting to calm the situation before it began to escalate. He tried to recall any other people Keith would recognize, but as he thought about the party he couldn't help but recall the time he spent on the couch with his blonde temptress. "And, um, Nick... and..."

"And we got some bunnies in there, man. Bet you might want to meet a couple. Luke over here says he was talkin' to a hot one just before we came out to check on you," Stroker added.

Luke could have both patted his friend on the back and slugged him in the chest for his comment. Now that it was out in the open, Keith was bound to ask about it.

"Luke, you snagged another chick, huh?" Keith asked on cue, a pacified sense of interest coating his words. "What's she look like?"

"Yeah, man, you never told me anything about her. Who is she?"

Luke grinned before drooping his head for a moment in an easy defeat and bringing it back up. Truth be told, he didn't mind spending a little bit of time gloating about Kim, and maybe he could even get a little more information on her from Stroker if he knew her. "Her name's Kim, and she is a smokin' hot blonde." Though he was slightly ashamed to explain her by a feature she was born with rather than one of the traits she exuded, he also rationalized that he didn't know her well enough (yet) to do justice to that side of her. And, being a guy himself, he knew that men were visual creatures, above and beyond anything else.

"She's got this smile that can light up a room, man, and her laugh... you gotta hear it. It's, like, infectious and inviting at the same time. It makes you feel good to make her laugh."

Keith has closed his eyes to a squint, seemingly scrutinizing Luke and his description. "Isn't that the same thing you said about Chrissy Hoag?"

Luke shook his head and snorted out a 'no'. "I said she had a nice smile, but a better rack. I didn't say anything about her laugh... that shit was like a possessed giggle or somethin'. Freaked me out every damn time she did it. Matter of fact, I did my best _not_ to make her laugh... which is probably why she said I wasn't funny when we broke up."

Keith nearly exploded in a genuine loud guffaw at his friend's words, and the reaction put a smile on Luke's face.

Stroker, on the other hand, looked lost in thought, as if he was trying to piece something together. Before Luke could ask him if he was alright, the young man withdrew from his stupor and spoke first.

"That girl, the blonde one, Kim... do you know her last name?"

"Yeah, yeah," Luke nodded in confirmation. "Kim Kelly. You know her? What are my chances of getting her number before the night's over? I mean, things were goin' pretty good inside, but I was getting this weird feeling..."

Stroker simply shook his head and began to pick at random blades of grass in front of him. "Dude, you need to stay for away from that. Chick's psycho."

"What do you mean 'chick's psycho'?"

"Like, she's just psycho, man. She yells and screams at everyone, threatens people she doesn't like and has even beat a few up."

Keith laughed again. "So you're saying she's a fixer-upper? Sounds right up Luke's alley. Our little shrink loves a good head case."

While he was relived to see that his friend had pulled a miraculous reversal in attitude, Luke was not so thrilled that the subject of his love-life was under the microscope and enduring ridicule when she wasn't even around to defend herself.

 _Then again,_ he reasoned, _if what Stroker's saying is true, maybe her not hearing this is for the best._

"She's got a boyfriend, too, man, so you're really barking up the wrong tree with her. Daniel's a real badass... I wouldn't mess with him. Says he beat up some biker for his leather jacket. I don't know if it's true or not, but I don't want to find out the hard way either, ya know? Hell, just today he threatened to cut my hair off and sell it if I didn't cough up the ten bucks for this kegger. I mean, I know he was kiddin', but... at least I _hope_ he was kiddin'."

Luke had stopped listening halfway through his friend's rant. Something about what he had said triggered the gears in Luke's mind and they were running full steam ahead. The one thing that stuck out, that really started the whole process going again, was the mention of a leather jacket. Granted, there were a lot of people at this kegger, and there was bound to at least be a few guys wearing a leather jacket, but the connection he had just made was too ideal to simply shrug off.

"Lemme guess," Luke began coolly, "He's got brown, greasy hair, stands an inch or two shorter than me and kinda has a real James Dean look about him to go along with the leather jacket."

"Ye- yeah," Stroker replied, the air of surprise ripe in his voice. "How'd you know?"

"Let's just say I caught him giving a hard look to the space Kim and I were sitting at before I went to get us more bee-" He stopped, suddenly remembering what he had been doing before Stroker entered the picture. "Aw, shit! I was supposed to get her another beer. She probably thinks I ditched her or something now."

"Well, ya kinda did," Stroker chimed in, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Luke knew he was joking, but threw a dirty look his way for the hell of it.

"This Daniel guy messin' with you, Luke?" Keith asked, sounding a bit too serious to his friend.

"No, Keither, it's-"

"'Cause if he is I'll kick his ass! I'll kick his ass right now!" The altered teen suddenly stood up, the look of intensity in his eyes was clear as day and just as unsettling. "Show me where he is, man. Point him out and I'll-"

Luke and Stroker stood up in a rush as well, with Luke taking the lead once again.

 _Redirection,_ he told himself. _You need to redirect him. And quick._

"What?" he asked as jovially as he could, lining his lips with a smile. "Daniel? Come on, Keither, who cares about that loser? Remember what Stroker was just sayin'? There are some cute girls in that house, dude, and if you don't get in there and start talkin' to a few of 'em, you're gonna totally miss out."

"Ye-yea-yeah!" Stroker agreed, his wavering mask of tranquility far more obvious.

Slowly, Keith's facial features shifted once again, and his body visibly relaxed from its tense state. "Really? There's really a lot of bunnies in there?"

"Hell yeah; enough to go around! Why else do ya think Stroker and I came out here lookin' for ya?" Luke smoothly wrapped his arm around Keith's shoulders, jostling him slightly and turning both of their bodies towards the house. "I'll even get ya a little something to make ya irresistible to the ladies."

 _Or to just straight up knock your ass out._

Though he was not a fan of drugging anyone, especially his friends, Luke knew that a simple Benadryl or two wouldn't hurt Keith in the long run, and the trick had certainly saved their ass in the past. He had packed a bottle in the glove box of his car for just such an occasion.

Keith began to smile and shook his head slightly. "Alright, Luke, if you say so."

After getting him back into the house and settled onto the couch without much of a fuss, Luke asked Stroker to stay with Keith while he ran out to his car to get the 'little something' he had promised outside.

A look of worry flourished on Stroker's face at the suggestion. "What the hell am I supposed to do if he gets mad or something?" he whispered.

Luke shook his head, trying to maintain a look of confident dismissal. "Nah, don't worry about that. Just keep talking to him about girls. Hell, point to random ones and make shit up if you have to. Keep him interested. He won't talk to 'em without an extra shove, anyway."

A doubtful look still peppered across his face, Stroker gave one last grimace to Luke before taking a seat beside Keith and starting up a conversation, nodding his head towards a girl a the far end of the room.

Luke made a beeline for the door and quickly exited the house, sprinting off the porch before he noticed Kim and Nick sitting on the hood of a redish-orange Firebird. The timing would have been outlandishly perfect... if not for the fact that it was _bad_ timing. Luke entered the scene almost on cue with a batch of heated, unbridled words being shouted by Kim Kelly. What she said was, undoubtedly, not meant for his ears, but once the words were uttered they stopped him dead in his tracks.


	6. Chapter 6 (Kim's POV)

**Chapter 6 (Kim's POV)**

Right off the bat Kim could see that Daniel looked stunned to see her when he turned around, like he had totally drawn a blank that she was even at this lame-ass party to begin with. Part of her wished that she wasn't.

"Hi," she said, keeping her smile but not at all attempting to make her voice sound overtly cheerful. There was only so far she was willing to take this ruse and, most of the time, she felt that Daniel didn't pay attention to how she sounded anyway, just how good or angry she looked.

He gave her a good once-over with his eyes, though the rest of his facial features remained cemented in surprise. With things the way they were, she couldn't tell if his reaction was a good one or a bad one.

Kim held up her lighter and wiggled it between the grip of her thumb and forefinger. "You got a smoke? I think I left mine in my car, but I dunno really." She shrugged, allowing her happy expression to falter a little.

She had hoped to see Daniel smile at her, maybe even have their eyes connect for the first time since they had spoken at school earlier in the day. His gaze was a little magnetic, it always had been, and she did miss being the subject of it... but the longing stare usually also came with his trademark smirk, full of cockiness and confidence. There were times when she loved that look on him and others when she absolutely hated it... she wasn't sure how she would feel about it if it made an appearance this evening.

Breaking from the fog that surrounded him, Daniel delivered absolutely none of what Kim had anticipated, as per usual. He simply rolled his eyes at her and held out the pack of smokes in his hand. "Whatever," he uttered in a detached, apathetic manner.

"Thanks. Such a gentleman," Kim deadpanned, reaching over and pulling a stick from the offered pack. He obviously was not in the mood to be cordial, so Kim felt fine with dropping her act completely and getting a few things off her chest. "Or, maybe it's just that you're saving that fake, nice-guy bullshit for your new piece of ass, huh?" Her tone had changed to piercingly snide, the resonance of the words almost taunting. "I mean, Lindsay fucking Weir? Are you serious, Daniel?"  
She really didn't know what he was thinking. Lindsay was a little goody two-shoes, a straight-A student and the kind of dork that Daniel made fun of on a regular basis. The idea that she was trying to join the group was still ludicrous to Kim, and she didn't see the girl's tenure lasting all that long... even if she had to end it herself.

She caught sight of Daniel rolling his eyes at her again after she spoke.

 _Two times in, what? Twenty seconds? Way to make a new record... and be a dick._

There was a beat of silence, and Kim read the look of hesitation on Daniel's face. He was waiting to make sure she was done. This was a prime example of why she felt he never actually listened to her, but just for his time to talk. There was never a moment of consideration on his end, no contemplation, just a quick gear-up for the next offensive. This time, Kim realized, she was tired of it. Just so tired. Things never changed with him, and she felt crazy expecting them to anymore.

 _He's all I got, though,_ she reminded herself, repeating her oft-used justification for taking him back when he fucked up or for seeking him out after he broke things off.

"Look, Lindsay's cool," he finally spoke in reply, but Kim caught the subtle tell in his face, the little twitch that happened whenever he had just lied about something that even he was having a hard time buying. Lindsay was most certainly _not_ cool, and it was almost an insult to the word to suggest her as such. It was the second time she had heard that spiel in the same night and it was starting to sound rehearsed.

"And at least I know her. As opposed to that random guy who you've been 'whoring it up' for all evening." His tone had changed, along with the severity of his words. They were vicious.

Kim was taken aback for a moment, the idea that Daniel had seen her with Luke already hadn't even crossed her mind and now he had the upper hand, the element of surprise that she didn't want to give him. It took her all of a moment to regain her poise and assert her own brand of venom into the words she spat out next.

"You know her, huh? Really? What makes her happy? What pisses her off? What's her favorite book? Band? Color? Do you even know what color her eyes are? How about her panties, huh? Just how well do you know her?"

She knew he could probably BS his way through the answers, maybe even get a few right, but that wasn't the point. She wanted to jolt him, to push him off track by throwing his own lame words at him. Maybe even piss him off enough to get him to snap. There were times when Daniel could recover from a sour mood and others where it left him grouchy and unpleasant until he slept it off. While things were not going anywhere near as well as she had hoped and any plans for a reunion were dead in the water by now, she still wanted to at least get him to the point where he would be too irritable for _any_ woman to enjoy... especially Lindsay. A scornful response popped into her head and she was all too eager to use it before considering the consequences.

"And at least Luke listens to me, alright? He probably knows more about me from a five minute talk than you even tried to in the past year!"

Kim clammed up suddenly, frustrated beyond belief and unsure if she had just made a mistake by revealing Luke's name to her ex.

As she watched her words truly soak into Daniel (a rarity she would have been enthused over if not for the horrible timing; the irony, however, was not lost on her), the feeling of uncertainty over her slip-up evolved into a full-on conviction of dread. His face twisted; levelheadedness evaporating in a flash, and Kim knew she had accomplished her goal... but had she gone too far?

"Fine. And I'm sure that tonight you're planning to get to know Luke really well." His words weren't just intense this time, they were heated.

Kim had been doing this, by and large, to make sure she wouldn't get the cold shoulder from Daniel by the end of the night, but now she was in danger of getting burned... and putting Luke in her ex's cross-hairs.

 _It shouldn't be this hard to keep someone, to stick together if two people truly care about each oth-_

Her thought was cut short by Daniel's continued outburst.

"So why don't you leave me alone and just go ahead and fuck him?"

Surprisingly, his words not only singed her, they cut right at her heart. She suddenly felt dejected and shunned. She couldn't let him see that though, not any more than he already had at least. This was tit for tat time now and she had to strike back before the opportunity passed.

"Maybe I will, asshole. It's sure as hell a lot more than you're going to get from the prude you're after!"

Regret. Immediate regret followed her words. She could have used that opening to say what she really wanted to say, to show that he was, in all honestly, stepping on her heart with his callous response.

 _He doesn't get it..._ The words despondently rang in her head. _And maybe I don't either. Maybe we were right to break up. Maybe we were right every time we broke up and it's just taken us this long to finally realize it. I don't like being like this all the time. I don't like feeling like I need to be like this all the time to keep him in line._

Or, perhaps her words did unlock some kind of understanding in Daniel. He stood before her for a moment, the silence building its own indeterminate atmosphere and Kim could see that his eyes were telling a story she couldn't read. Was he going to apologize? Retaliate? Slink away without saying another word? The response she got was altogether different, and insulting in its own right.

He laughed at her.

 _What. The. FUCK!?_

Kim's eyes narrowed and, for the first time in a long while, she wished she could do something far-fetched and fanatical with them, like literally shoot daggers or maybe turn the son of a bitch to stone.

With a grin still stretched across his face, he spoke to her in a lowered tone; almost a hush, "I'm sure you will, slut- Karen Scarfolli was right about you. And as far as Lindsay goes? We'll see how far I get, won't we?"

And that was it. All of the sudden Kim hated him. She hated him more that she ever had before. There was a nauseating mix of loathing and hurt erupting inside of her and she had no idea which would linger the longest. At the moment, she didn't care either. All she really wanted to do was clock him a good one.

Pulling her arm back, she concentrated on his smug face and didn't care if she landed a slap or a punch, just so long as she knocked the stupid fucking look off him.

A large blur of a figure injected itself between the two before Kim could act on her impulses and she found herself being held back by someone. A quick glance at the green Zeppelin shirt with the burning Hindenburg on it and Kim knew exactly who it was. Nick.

There was no way of telling how long he had been there, how much he had heard and, truthfully, it didn't matter to her. It wasn't as if Nick was a stranger to the couple's dysfunctional relationship. He had been front and center for many of their verbal knock-down, drag-out fights.

She struggled against his hold briefly, but knew he wasn't going to just let her have at it on Daniel's face.

"Whoa, whoa! What- what are you guys doing?" Nick sounded genuinely surprised, so he must not have been there for long.

"You're a piece of shit, Desario!" Kim yelled, not at all being able to actually see Daniel through the wall of Nick Andopolis. She knew he was there, though... and that stupid smirk, too. "Fuck you, and fuck Karen Scarfolli!"

Now she had two little bitches to beat up next week.

"Kim, come on, stop. Please?" Nick pleaded.

Kim once again tried to push forward, almost through Nick, to get to Daniel, but she found that her will to do so had almost completely vanished. "Get the hell off me, Nick," she finally huffed in reply, stepping back and yanking herself from his grip. Her voice had lowered substantially and she felt deflated; loathing had given way to hurt.

She didn't care about seeing Daniel anymore and with a turn of her body she faced the other direction and began to walk away from the two, avoiding eye contact with either man. Finally coming to a stop a short distance later just in front of Daniel's Trans Am, a wicked thought of keying it or outright setting the ugly thing on fire briefly flickered in Kim's mind, but it fizzled almost as quickly as it formed.

Instead, she slumped against the side of the car, her butt and the back of her thighs resting on the front fender as she leaned back into it for support. She crossed her arms over her chest, closed her eyes and released a long sigh; the flat somberness the respiration held to it told a tale of its own. As she sat slanted on the car, a million thoughts, doubts and misgivings running rampant through her head, she rolled Daniel's cigarette in her fingers. Under normal circumstances, the thing would have already been lit and half-smoked by now... but somehow the item felt tarnished and contaminated in her hand. With all that had just transpired, she also knew that one simple cigarette wasn't going to make a bit of difference in her stress level, and chain-smoking always made her sick, so she was just going to have to weather this storm straight... if she could. A small laugh escaped her as she realized that even her small buzz from the alcohol inside was completely gone. Finally making a decision, Kim clutched her hand together tightly, feeling a mild hint of vindication as the thin roll of paper split and tore under her grip, exploding its delicate contents into her palm.

Kim un-nestled her arm and let it fall limply to her side, spilling the destroyed smoke to the ground. With the action, she realized she was remarkably, literally tired. Absolutely nothing physical had happened, and yet she felt thoroughly drained.

It wasn't any more than a minute later when she heard the footsteps of someone approaching.

 _You'd better not be Daniel,_ she warned internally.

Her eyes opened in a nefarious glare, brows furrowed and emitting their own cautionary signals. When Nick's lumbering frame entered her line of sight, Kim's posture calmed slightly.

"Hey, are you-" he began and cut himself off, appearing to reconsider his words. "I mean, is everything-" He stopped himself once again.

 _Okay? Alright?_ Kim thought to finish his questions for him. She knew Nick well enough to understand that he meant well with the concerns and he wasn't attempting to provoke her with the questions, so she just let them slide. Of the three men in the group, Kim had known Nick the longest and they were probably closer (friendship-wise) than either Ken or Daniel could guess. They had met back in the seventh grade, the start of their junior high period, when Kim was still (mostly) innocent and sweet and Nick was just starting to get into his basketball phase. What was was certain the other two didn't know, what she and Nick would likely take to their graves as a secret they only shared between them, was that Mr. Nick Andopolis was actually her very first kiss. He swore that she was his first as well, but she always had trouble believing that with how popular he was at that time in their lives.

The kiss, as it turned out, wasn't horrible, but they both immediately knew it was a big mistake and awkwardly the two came to an identical conclusion that they would be better off as friends more than anything. Kim was thankful for their mistake though because, in a way, it bonded them. She would come to both depend on that bond and offer it to him when either were hurting and in need of someone to just be there for them. The whole 'Heidi Henderson' ordeal had broken Andopolis pretty badly and Kim had done her best to be there for him throughout his toughest tides with it, but the heartsore teen hadn't made it easy for her. Then again, he had been there for her almost each and every time Daniel had left her with a venomous bite that brought her down, and Kim knew she wasn't a ray of sunshine when that happened either.

"No," Kim simply answered, trying to retrain the taut anger in her voice. "And I don't want to talk about it."

"Daniel's just being Daniel, Kim," Nick offered with a shrug, seemingly oblivious to her last statement. He took a seat next to her on the Trans Am, actually sitting atop the hood thanks to his longer body proportions. "He'll cool off in a day or two and you guys will get it figured out. You always do."

"No, Nick," Kim shook her head. This time was different, Daniel wasn't just ogling some other slut or mean girl from her troupe; he had went after a different type of girl completely... and that signaled a change to Kim that she didn't know how to understand. "It's... different this time."

"How? Come on, you guys have been pretty mean to each other and done some bad things just to get to each other too, but you two are like made for one another or somethin'."

Kim crossed her arms again and released a huff of discontent. It wasn't just his words and adamant stand that were agitating her, but she knew she was going to have to be the bearer of bad news for her friend, and that weight was not sitting too well on her shoulders. "Nick..."

"What?" he released with a small laugh, obviously trying to lighten the mood as best as he could. "Kim, you know I'm ri-"

"I saw him with Lindsay tonight. That's what we were fighting about. He's probably going to..."

She stopped herself before she went too far. Nick could sometimes have a heart of glass to coincide with his heart of gold, and Kim didn't want to take a hammer to it with her words. She didn't know how much he liked Lindsay, but it was glaringly evident to her that he did have some interest that started before tonight.

She turned her head to look at him, sorrow marring her features, but she found that he was already averting his disappointed stare to a dead leaf he held in his hands. He didn't say a word, and Kim couldn't imagine what it would have been if he had managed to think of anything anyway. There was a crinkling, crunching sound as Nick pushed his finger through the middle of the dried foliage and caused it to crumble under the pressure. Kim might not have been the most poetic person in the world (or at all), but the symbolism there would have been hard for even Stevie Wonder to miss, she imagined.

Silence continued to permeate their now non-existent conversation and both teens sat in contemplation of the twists their night had taken.

"Hey, um," Nick broke the quiet with his words, his voice somewhat shaky, "maybe... I mean, what do you think about Luke? I watched you guys talking on the couch for a little bit. That looked pretty nice."

 _Oh my God... are you serious?_ Kim rolled her eyes. This was not the moment to bring alternative options into the mix, even if Luke was, for a time, a tantalizing one.

"I think he likes you, Kim; and I know him, he's a good guy."

Nope, he was just gonna keep going. Kim had to put a nail in this ASAP.

"And I really don't care, okay Nick? Look, Luke was just some guy, alright? I saw him, noticed he was hot and I wanted to use him to make Daniel jealous. That's it! I don't care if he likes me because he doesn't have a chance in hell!"

Her reply was reactionary, just as it had spun into when she was arguing with Daniel minutes ago, but she knew she could have worded it better, could have sounded less 'final' in her decision. The truth of the matter was that Luke wasn't just some hot decoy for Kim to use and toss away. He was also nice, funny, maybe even a 'good' guy as Nick had vouched... even the small conversation they had left Kim wanting to talk to him more. The most amazing thing, now that she had time to for it to sink in, was that he understood her. Not just how she presented herself on the outside, but how she worked on the inside, too. It was the polar opposite of what she was used to from her ex, as their latest communication clearly demonstrated. Of course, Luke hadn't seen every side to her, and there was no telling how much would be too much for a guy sometimes. Plus, he didn't even go to the same school, which wouldn't play into Kim's inherent trust issues too well.

It was quite obvious that, for tonight at least, Daniel didn't give two shits about her or her well-being and, even if Luke did, she didn't have the patience to deal with men anymore this evening.

When Kim looked over a second later, however, she found herself wishing she had bitten her tongue to hold off her reply to Nick. It would have been so much easier, so much more passive... and a whole hell of a lot less embarrassing when she realized who else had heard her outburst. Turning to see Nick's reaction, she stopped short upon noticing none other than Luke standing just a few feet away from the two. He wore a look that appeared not only awestruck, but somehow damaged as well. Even if she did have a change of heart, she was sure there was no way he would want anything to do with her now.

 _Well... shit._

* * *

 _Author's note: Wolfgirl2001 and I worked really hard on the flow and feel of the first-half of this together. We wanted to make sure that the dialogue was true to the characters, consistent between stories and, in all honestly, it was a confrontation that we were both really looking forward to hashing out since we started working on our respective twin fics. I'm pretty damn proud of it and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you haven't done so already, please head over to her story '…and Brassieres' and give it a read! It is, literally, the other side of this night from both Lindsay and Daniel's POV, where the perspective is interchanging, yet happening simultaneously for both characters (just like how it is sometimes for Kim and Luke in this piece)._


	7. Chapter 7 (Luke's POV)

**Chapter 7 (Luke's POV)**

The words he had basically walked into reverberated in his head again as his face fell flat.

'Luke was just some guy, alright? ...use him to make Daniel jealous ...he doesn't have a chance in hell!'

There was so much he could dissect between those snippets of her declaration, and his mind began to work its magic almost immediately.

 _What the hell just happened? Was this what Stroker meant by 'chick's psycho'? And I'm now just some guy who doesn't stand a chance in hell? Fuck it. Who cares? I'll just get Keither straight... ish, and we'll move the fuck on. Goddamn, why do McKinley parties always suck for me?_

Realizing there was a stillness in the air, and unable to read the look on Kim's face due to the fog of his own sudden scorned attitude, Luke retaliated with his own words.

"That really fuckin' bites," he relayed truthfully, his tone reflecting his state of mind. "And here I thought you said you _didn't_ bite."

Kim didn't seem to have a reaction from what he could tell, giving him absolutely nothing to go on. She simply pushed herself off the car she was leaning against and released a muted, "Whatever," before turning and walking away.

Nick broke from his haze and began to look around, almost appearing bewildered about what had happened. ""Hey, Kim, where ya going?" he called out, but he was not met with a reply. He turned his attention back to his blue-eyed friend, who was watching Kim leave.

Stop staring at her ass, man. She already told you to fuck off... Luke criticized to himself.

"What was that all about?" Nick asked, breaking Luke from his focus.

"You weren't listening to any of that and you were right next to us?"

Nick shook his head and hunched his shoulders, peering down. "Naw, man. I got a little lost in thought after what Kim told me. See, there's this girl, Lindsay, and she's pretty and smart and-"

"Hey," Luke interrupted, feeling like a jerk already. "I don't want to be an ass here, but I gotta get some Benadryl for Keither before he starts some shit inside. Walk and talk?"

Nick nodded and slid off the hood of the Firebird, following Luke as he made his way across the street and down a few cars. On the way there, Nick quickly explained what had happened just before he zoned out of the conversation. In return, Luke clarified the small exchange he had with the hotheaded blonde, and he watched as Nick's face seemed to shift in understanding.

"You can't let her words get to ya, Luke. I know her... I've known her for a long time, man, and that's just how she deals with things when she's having a bad time. You should go talk to her."

"I should what?!" Luke almost laughed, opening the driver's side door to his rusted Ford Pinto. "Didn't I just tell you how horrible our last conversation went?" He sat down in the front seat and listened to Nick continue to plead his case.

"She needs someone to talk to right now, and you're good with people, Luke. Like, really good. Look, you talk with Kim and I'll stay with Keith to make sure he doesn't do anything before the Benedryl kicks in. Deal?"

Luke sighed and threw the pill bottle back into the small glove box, slamming it shut. He clenched two pills in one hand and brought the other to the bridge of his nose, pinching it slightly. He knew Nick had an ulterior motive for calming Kim down: avoiding getting Lindsay beat up. Just the way Nick had talked about her in the span of a minute and a half cued Luke in on just how big of a crush his friend had on this girl, and even though she was clearly into somebody else, Nick still cared enough to make sure she didn't feel the wrath of that person's ex.

"Fine," Luke finally agreed, reaching behind him into the back seat. "Best I can offer is twenty minutes, then we're outta here." He pulled back a package of saltine crackers a moment later and was met with a puzzled look from Nick.

"What the hell are those for?"

"They soak up some alcohol... and help subdue nausea. I know we're already givin' Keither somethin' for that, but I'm not sure what he took, and I don't want puke all over my shitty little car again."

Nick simply shrugged his shoulders as if agreeing that that made total sense.

As the two made their way back to the house, Nick asked a question that Luke wasn't entirely expecting.

"Hey, do you like Kim? I mean, like, really?"

Luke stopped walking for a moment, contemplating the question fully, while Nick simply stared at him expectantly.

"I mean, she's gorgeous, but I don't think I've really met her yet, ya know? I thought we were gettin' to know each other a little earlier, but now I'm wonderin' if that was all fake just so she could make Daniel jealous."

He had purposely avoided outright answering the question, because he wasn't sure of the answer himself. Part of him knew the girl was trouble, and she might be more than she was worth, but another part liked how she laughed, how she seemed interested in finding out what 'Linguistics' was, how there was a rawness to her, how there was a challenge to her... and especially how nicely her jeans framed her ass.

"No," Nick laughed and shook his head. "I was watching you guys when I was talking with that piano chick. I've seen her real smile and her fake one, I've heard her real laugh and her fake ones. You got the real deal both times tonight, man, and that's pretty damn good considering how hard she can be sometimes. I think you two could have something, especially cause you might be the only guy who has a chance at understanding her crazy moments and how to deal with them."

Both teens began to laugh and continued on their way back to the house.

"Nick, you're always the optimistic romantic, aren't you?"

"Hey, I just believe in people finding the right one for 'em, man," Nick chuckled. "And don't try to tell me you're realistic all the time, either. I know how much you believe in that Japanese astrology crap."

"Chinese zodiac," Luke corrected, reaching down the front of his shirt and pulling out the pendant necklace he had tucked away. A circular medallion dangled at the end of the thin chain; a large circular coin with a square cut out of its middle was surrounded by twelve small circles, each decorated with a tiny animal. "And my lucky feng shui coin."

Nick grinned. "Yeah, and how much luck has it brought you tonight?"

Luke returned his friend's smirk as he opened the door. "Shut up, man."

Once inside, he made quick work of getting Keith the pills, while Nick took a seat next to him, Stroker and and the newly-arrived Mark. The couch was suddenly a haven for stoners.

"Hey, man, Stroker tells me you were flirting with Kim Kelly earlier," Mark spouted as Luke made sure Keith actually swallowed the Benadryl tablets.

"She came raging through here like a hurricane a minute or two ago; guess you messed that up, huh?"

Luke didn't reply, merely giving a cautionary glance to both Mark and Stroker.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Nick asked, speaking the question Luke had just formed in his head.

Stroker shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable, "She emptied the keg and went somewhere down the hall just a second ago, I think."

"Uh huh," Luke flatly replied, opening the bag of saltines and giving a handful to Keith, turning his attention to him. "Eat these, bullshit with these jokers and chill out for a bit. We're headin' home soon, man."

With his primary concern out of the way, Luke grabbed two empty cups and went to the kitchen, filling both with cold water. He heard the sound of a door closing just as he entered the hallway and was left with a few choices as to how to find her, and of course, all of the doors were closed.

He knocked on the first door on his right.

"Tak- oh God. Taken!" a muffled, distressed voice yelled from inside. The declaration was immediately followed by the retching sound of someone emptying their stomach.

 _What the hell?_ Luke wondered. _Nobody who drank that weak shit has been feeling sick as far as I know. Then again, maybe whoever is in the bathroom, puking their guts out, took the same thing Keither did and their body is having none of it._

He quickly moved on, zigzagging across the hall and getting ready to rap on the door. He stopped himself when he heard voices coming from within the room, and instead leaned his ear against the door to hear if any of them sounded like Kim. He heard two distinct tones, one male and the other female, but nothing that sounded anything at all like the blonde he was pursuing.

Strike two. Another hallway cross and he was knocking on another door.

Someone spoke up from inside, "Sam? Neal? This room is off limits- mmmbraff..." The voice disintegrated from words into a garbled mess and Luke opened the door to get a better idea of what was going on. Upon entering the room, he found a tall, lanky boy sprawled out on the floor. He was wearing a blue shirt that had lines of blue and white running down the shoulders, a pair of olive green pants and a single shoe on his left foot. The right one was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Luke asked, genuine concern entering his voice.

The boy looked up, thick glasses set upon his face and magnifying the features beneath them in a way that would have made Luke laugh if he was more certain of the situation.

"Don't feel good," the boy simply replied.

"Why don't you lay down on the bed instead of the floor then?"

"Don't want to throw up on Sam's bed. I think- I think I already did that in his garbage can."

"Aw, jeez," Luke sighed, taking a look around the room. From what he could tell, it was a boy's room, and the name 'Sam' seemed to strengthen this belief as well, though he had known a girl named 'Samantha' who went by the shorthand version. The entryway and floor was pretty clear, but the writing desk and wall-shelves were lined with loose papers and packed with books. Various posters were pinned to the walls, some for movies, such as ' _Jaws_ ' and ' _Star Wars_ ', and others for people Luke wasn't interested in recalling the names of. _Hot Wheels_ toy cars littered various spots of the room as well, illustrating that the owner either had a vested interest in automobiles, or he was still a kid who was taking his time with growing out of that stage in life. Finally, he spotted what could only be a keg near the closet. It was hidden, just badly. Clothing was lazily clad over it, but anyone who knew what they were looking at knew _exactly_ what they were looking at. Next to it lay an overturned plastic miniature baseball cap, froth lining the sides of it and a small puddle of liquid at the bottom. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on and why the kid felt so sick.

"What the hell are you doin' with a keg in here drinking all by yourself?"

"They all thought that was the real keg out there," the boy replied and started laughing. He released a loud burp and immediately put his hands on his stomach, commencing the awkward moaning that brought Luke into the room to begin with.

"What's your name, kid?" Luke asked, making his way to the disguised keg and ran a finger across the bottom of the faucet. He touched it to his tongue, getting only a very small taste of the liquid but finding it very familiar, and much more appealing than the crap they thought was actually booze out in the living room.

"Bill."

"So, Bill, you're telling me that you somehow got a fake keg, switched it with this real one and you've been in here drinking from it all night?"

Bill looked from Luke to the keg and back to Luke again. "Mmberffm- maybe."

A smile spread across his face at Bill's confirmation. He would have slapped him on the back and congratulated him if he could... and if he didn't think he may make him throw up just by doing so. The kid, and whoever may have pulled it off with him, was a little mastermind and it was a prank that would surely up the popularity of this geeky looking individual if he ever had the guts to admit it... or have anyone believe him.

"Well, if you're gonna stay on the floor, get on your side. Lay your back against the end of the bed and bend your bottom knee out so you don't roll over onto your stomach, either. If you throw up, it won't be as bad or dangerous."

Bill looked at Luke for a moment, his mouth agape as if he had just witnessed something amazing and his gaze seeming more lost than anything. A second later he began to crawl towards the bed and positioned himself against it just as instructed.

"Here, man, you're gonna need this." Luke handed Bill one of the tumblers of water and a handful of the saltines, leaving only half the bag.

 _Guess it doesn't matter,_ he thought. _Kim isn't really drunk, I'm not really drunk. No one but this kid is really drunk here. I'll just save 'em for Keither._

"Drink that water now and eat those crackers whenever; they should help with the nausea and how you're gonna feel in the morning."

Even though he didn't know Bill, Luke felt pretty certain that this was his first experience with alcohol, at least enough to get him this drunk, and the next day would not be pretty for him.

"Thanks!" Bill said after downing almost the whole tumbler of water in record time. He sounded a little more with it than before. "You know, you're pretty cool for someone who would probably- har-oof -beat me up in the hall at school."

Luke grinned and laughed, somehow understanding the kid through the slur of words and gurgle noise he delivered. "Well, if you go to McKinley then you don't have to worry about that at all. Besides, you seem pretty cool yourself, Bill. It takes some balls to pull of a stunt like that with the keg." He poured the water from his remaining tumbler into Bill's near-empty one.

Bill smiled and turned his attention to the TV in front of him, the last segment of _Dallas_ was just starting.

Luke walked to the concealed keg and filled his cup with the far superior alcohol, assuming it would make a nice peace offering to Kim, and backed out of the room. Bill let out another horrible 'har-oof' sound, making a retreating Luke grimace at the noise, but otherwise appeared fine.

* * *

 _Okay, one last door. This has gotta be it, right? Right._

He merely stood there for a moment, trying to decide if he should knock or just go in. She may not be alone, after all.

 _Just go in, jackass!_

The bag of crackers banged into the door as he made his decision and, with doorknob in hand, he turned it and opened the door enough to stick his head in. "Kim, you in here?"

Her voice floated back to him a moment later, sounding both confused and surprised. "Luke?!"

Oddly, a sense of relief washed over him when he realized she was indeed in this room and hadn't snuck out of a window or something silly. If he were to be honest with himself, he really did want to talk with her again before the night was over. He wanted to try to set things straight, to see her face, make her smile, maybe even be lucky enough to be graced with her laugh. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"What... why are you..." she sputtered, but Luke didn't hone in on the words she said, but rather what she _didn't_ say and how she reacted. She didn't tell him to get out or go away, she didn't tell him to fuck off or even leave her alone. Her stammer could have meant anything, but he hoped it meant that she wasn't going to be hostile and would perhaps be open to at least talking with him.

He touched the spot on his chest where the small emblem lay underneath, counting on that luck to kick in this time. He turned the corner that separated the bedroom entryway from the room itself and was greeted with the sight of Kim sitting up on a rather large bed, looking as attractive as ever... though he thought he could spot that her eye makeup had been ran through the wringer.

He wanted to just walk over and be on the bed with her, but he knew that such an advance would be too forward, too crass and intrusive for what they had just gone through a few minutes ago. He suddenly realized that he had no idea how Kim would react to actually seeing him again considering how cross they were with one another outside. She appeared calmer, he would even go as far as saying somewhat relaxed, and the sight eased his mind immediately. A smile traced his face as their eyes connected, one that he couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to, and he took the lead in engaging her in conversation.

"Hey."


	8. Chapter 8 (Kim's POV)

**Chapter 8 (Kim's POV)**

There was an awkward, almost everlasting stretch of silence after she spoke. Kim was stuck in a shifting emotion, a shade of red spreading across her face in embarrassment, while Nick sat beside her, completely oblivious to what had happened. If she had looked at him, she would have seen that her words hadn't even penetrated the ex-basketball player's dumbfounded exterior, and if she had prodded further she would have only been met with a muddled 'Huh?' in reply.

"That really fuckin' bites," Luke commented, his words pushing through the silence with a bitter sting. "And here I thought you said you _didn't_ bite."

He didn't sound angry, at least not in the sense that Kim had expected the tone of anger to come across as, but there was a way about his delivery that felt cold and indifferent to her.

Kim shook her head and pushed herself off the Firebird, completely at a loss as to how to reply without making matters worse.

 _How much worse can it get, though?_ she wondered.

She simply replied, "Whatever," in a hushed voice, turning to walk away and feeling slightly disgusted at how much her dismissal had reminded her of exactly how Daniel had treated her just a few minutes ago.

"Hey, Kim, where ya going?" Nick asked, sounding just as dazed as she would have expected him to.

She didn't reply. She refused to, as she felt like a walking disaster by this point and cringed at the thought of what could go bad next and how horribly. Instead, she made her way back into the Weir house, back to the mediocre party inside. There wasn't any way to undo all of the crap that had happened tonight, but maybe she could drown out most of the consequences for a while by drinking as much of the alcoholic swill as she was able to.

 _Get blackout drunk... yeah, that should really help things,_ she admonished her plan in her own head, but ignored the little voice as she pushed her way to the keg, not at all giving a shit who would give her a dirty look or call her a name behind her back.

Kim groaned quite audibly when her improvised plan caved in on itself the second the keg began to fill the top half of her fresh cup with nothing but foam. The cask was spent. It didn't matter... she was determined to down the half of the alcohol that she could as fast as possible, and then just find a spot to get away from everyone and everything for a little while. She scooped out as much of the froth as she could and merely threw it onto the top of the keg with a shake of her hand, wiping the remaining bit on her pants as she made moves to get the next part of her plan into action.

Kim chugged the contents of the cup as she turned down the hallway, fully intent on crashing in one of the rooms for a bit. She didn't quite feel confident in her ability to not suddenly explode in a fit of rage without warning, and she needed that settled before ditching this place.

The tumbler was nearly empty when her eyes fell upon the door to Lindsay's room. It was closed the last time she had been in the hall; she made sure of it by slamming the damn thing shut. Finding the entryway slightly ajar left Kim with a curiosity she couldn't quelch without satisfying, but sprang knots of anxiety in her stomach almost as soon as she set eyes on it as well. It was Lindsay's bedroom after all, and Daniel had been paying her a special kind of attention all night from what Kim could tell, even growing defensive of the nerdy girl when she was mocked. One last swig from her cup and Kim crept towards the door, an action she most certainly would have felt silly about if she wasn't so preoccupied with thoughts of catching Daniel and Lindsay literally fucking in the room. What she saw wasn't quite as daunting as what she had conjured in her mind, but the sight still left her breathless and miserable.

At first all she could see was a pair of feet: Daniel's. The shit-kicker combat boots he wore with pride shined in the moonlight that was seeping in from the window. A quick glance to the floor revealed his trademark leather jacket crumpled into a heap next to the bed, and almost on top of it was a shirt. A shirt that Kim recognized instantly. She had seen the garment more times that she would have liked to during the night, and each time she did she couldn't help but think that Lindsay had been so scatterbrained that she put her own shirt on inside out, showing the world each and every seam by accident. Now that the top was on the floor next to Daniel's coat, the innocent foolishness of it was completely gone. Kim involuntarily moved a little more to the right, her body taking the action almost without her noticing it. Even though she had blocked another section of light by moving, she could see well enough to spot Lindsay... and the bitch was actually straddling her ex! Their legs (both still covered in pants, at least) were rubbing against one another as Lindsay sat atop Daniel, leaning her head back. It was Desario's hands that really caught Kim's attention; not because of what he was doing with them, as she couldn't see that, but for where they were: right where the front closure of the Brain's pants were.

 _He could be doing anything,_ she thought, and damn-near yelled before pursing her lips shut tightly.

Lindsay's apparent look of satisfaction only fed into the belief that there was some heavy petting at play.

Kim would have burst into the room and started a hell of a riot if she wasn't so afraid that she would break down in a babbling mess of tears instead. The whole night had been steadily culminating to this point, her conversation outside with Daniel was testimony to that, but Kim never expected him to _actually_ follow through with it. She had always suspected he may have sought out the company of other women when they broke up, a misgiving that often made her seek out a random guy or two to make out with during their off-time as a reassurance that she was both still desirable to others besides him and as a counter point should he ever begin to gloat about how much action he had seen when they apart. It was a twisted balance to their relationship and one that Kim despised on the inside. Even thinking about it made her feel abhorred and not at all any better than the women she would flippantly call a 'slut' to their face when she felt the necessity.

Daniel had, at some point, shifted his head and now Kim was almost certain he could see her. Her body took spontaneous action again and kept moving to the right, one foot right in front of the other without Kim actually giving any thought to the process. It all took just a few seconds from start to finish, but she felt like she had been standing in front of that opened doorway for an eternity.

Before she knew it, she was in front of the entrance to the room at the end of the hall and opening it. Once inside, she closed the door and leaned against it, dropping the empty cup to the floor and clasping her hands to her face, covering her nose and mouth. It took all that she had to stifle the tears that threatened to overflow and pour out. And, in part, she failed. Warm, wet traces ran down the sides of her fingers, smearing her eyeliner and blurring her vision at the same time.

 _He did it. He actually did it,_ Kim pensively remarked in her head. Sniffling and wiping the tears from her face before dropping her hands back down to her side, she spat out an enraged, "Fuck him!" to no one in particular and resumed her inner dialogue. _That's it... we're really done. I can't go back to him now. I won't._

Another voice spoke out in her head, one she was very familiar with in times of self-doubt. _Would he even want_ you _back? Lindsay is every bad boy's dream: sweet, innocent, submissive... and undoubtedly a virgin. You're just some mean, ruined, headstrong bitch. Who would want you anymore?_

"Oh God. Shut up..." Kim groaned aloud in a quiet voice, trying to calm the barrage of negative thoughts while clearing away even more tears and smearing her makeup passed the point of recovery. "Shut up, shut up, shut up," she continued, making her way into the room and plopping onto the bed. She hadn't even been aware of the fact that half of the mattress was covered in breakable, glass decoration and picture frames until her forceful landing caused some of the trinkets to clang against one another.

As she looked around, moonlight soaking the room with it's glow from the window, she realized someone had made a good effort to relocate most of the fragile living room ornaments into this room. There were ashtrays, a ceramic duck and owl, bulbous vases and all other sorts of things scattered across the left side of the bed. Finally, Kim's eyes landed upon a fancy wheeled glass serving cart with various decanters on it that was neatly shoved into the corner made by the bed and the nightstand. The containers all held different quantities and colors of liquid in them and Kim really didn't care if it was brandy, cognac or whisky inside each; she simply planned to take advantage of the liquor she found in her presence.

She grabbed the jug with the largest quantity of contents, removed the lid and made the mistake of taking a big swig. The decision was regretted immediately, as the strong alcohol instantly hit her throat and irritated it. She coughed profusely and almost lost half of her gulp in the process. The taste was strong and horrible, drawing her to compare the flavor to that of a cross between rubbing alcohol and the ammonia she had knocked over in science class back in the seventh grade. The aftertaste wasn't as bad, a little woody overall, but the intensity of the other flavors dissipated quite noticeably.

"Shit!" she managed to spit out in a hoarse, muted voice after her minute-long coughing fit receded. Kim plopped herself on the bed again, the clang of glass reminding her to be careful if she had the sudden inclination to sprawl out on the mattress. She raised the container to her lips again, taking a much smaller sip, and managed to keep her mind void of any thoughts, negative or otherwise. The meager tasting was followed by another, and then another and another.

As she continued unabated, she found that both the drink and the quiet were calming her nerves slightly. Alcohol had always done the trick (far too well sometimes), but just getting away from everything and everyone helped immensely sometimes, too.

A long, disenchanted sigh escaped her and she turned to lay down on the bed, setting the bottle next to her side and kicking her feet up onto the plank-board patterned comforter as if it were her own. Her throat both burned and tingled at the same time, but she didn't care. Whatever the drink was, it was the good stuff. Fancy people like the Weirs didn't just keep crystalline containers full of the cheap shit... they knew how to show off their money in more ways than one.

She continued to make herself comfy, crossing her legs atop one another and interlocking her hands behind her head. Though cynical thoughts were brewing in her mind and her heart felt like it was lined with remorse, she held it all back and tried to keep ahold of the peace she had managed to find; focusing in on it even.

 _This is alright,_ she reasoned to herself. _Probably the best I've felt tonight since I was on the couch with-_

Her concentration broke at the sound of the bedroom door opening. Speculations raced through her head as she braced herself for visitors. The random thought of even yelling out something like 'keep your glass off my side of the bed,' or 'you can make-out in the closet, but keep it quiet!' briefly skittered across her brain before the would-be guest spoke up first.

"Kim, you in here?"

The voice that called out to her from the entryway was familiar. Very familiar.

"Luke?!" Kim replied in astonishment, sitting upright and almost knocking the decanter over before frantically grabbing hold of it. The man she was just thinking of was one of the last people she had ever expected to be seeking _her_ out, and even though she had no idea if he was going to be friendly or cold, the action itself was appealing to her in the interim. "What... why are you..." She trailed off, unsure of exactly what she wanted to ask, because she was truly at a loss as to why he was there.

He turned the corner a second later, exiting from what Kim considered the 'weird' interior entrance to the bedroom. There was a full tumbler in one hand and a half-bag of something in the other. A suave smile lined his lips again, one that she hadn't seen for a little while and swore she could've swooned for all over again. The moonlight hit him perfectly, and his blue eyes almost shimmered in the beam.

"Hey," he spoke to her softly, his smile never fading.


	9. Chapter 9 - Part 1 (Shared POV)

**Chapter 9: Part 1 (Kim/Luke POV)**

Kim didn't know what to say after his greeting; her brain wasn't able to wrap itself around that fact that they had just snapped at one another not too long ago yet here he was being friendly to her... smiling even. It was just such a far cry from what she was used to with Daniel, where a disagreement usually wouldn't be settled without one tearing into the other until the other gave in. The conflicting situation stalled her.

"Hi," she finally replied in just above a whisper.

"I, uh..." He held up the tumbler in his hand, trying to decide if he should tell her about the 'near beer' they had been consuming all night or let her hold on to any imagined buzz from the substance. "I found some better alcohol," he finished, opting for the latter choice.

In return, Kim held up the decanter in her hand to show him. "Yeah, me too."

"Oh, shit, wow!"

With one look at the glass, Luke came to the same conclusion that Kim had: whatever was in there was likely not cheap... or weak. Suddenly, even his real beer felt like a poor man's offering in comparison.

"And I'm gonna drink 'til I forget tonight."

"Well, damn,' Luke laughed, trying to keep things neutral, "I'll have to introduce myself to you all over again."

She smiled at his corny joke, but didn't reply. He pushed himself to approach the touchy subject of what this whole night was about for her.

"You know, even if you forget tonight, it's not gonna change what happ-"

"Don't, Luke," Kim cut in quickly, letting her upper body fall back onto the bed in a huff. "I swear to God if you ruin whatever buzz I get from this I'm gonna drink the rest and throw this-" She held the decanter up once again to examine it for a moment. "-this stupid bottle at you!" She let out a groan immediately afterwords, negating any chance for the blue-eyed teen to get a word in edgewise. "And I'm _not_ gonna talk about it, alright? Dumb-ass Andopolis and his big mouth."

Kim needed no verification that Nick had filled Luke in on all the details of the meaning behind her blowup outside. With how well she knew him, it would have been a bigger surprise to her if he hadn't blabbed the whole thing to the man she had been hitting on earlier.

"Hey, no, bottoms up to that," Luke replied and took a large drink from the tumbler.

 _One beer won't tank me,_ he reasoned as he made his way to the cart and looked at the other bottles on it, trying to appear as passive as he could about the elephant in the room.

'I don't _need_ someone to talk to, okay?" she continued, hearing his words but wanting to nail her point home. "So if that was all you were here to do, just leave."

"Do you even know what's in these?" he asked, ignoring her provoking last remark and holding up the tallest of the two remaining bottles, looking at the sliver of clear liquid left inside. There was another question, a real one, at the tip of his tongue, but he hadn't figured out how to word it without sending her over the edge again. Getting her to talk wouldn't be hard, he assumed, she had already introduced the subject again in a matter of seconds instead of dropping it entirely.

Kim thought for a few seconds, trying to place the taste of the liquor in her mind, but finally succumbing to the fact that she wasn't able to. "No."

There were another few beats of silence as Luke continued to examine the bottles and wrack his brain, and Kim raised her decanter up once more. She took a long, hard look at it this time, trying to remember if her mother or stepfather had even ever had something this fancy in the house for her to steal. She ran her free hand over the glass, feeling the bumps, ridges and curves of the container as she did. It was at that moment that she noticed the black streaks running down the sides of her fingers.

"Shit..." she released in a hefty sigh.

Luke, assuming she has already dropped her act about not wanting to talk, turned his attention back to her. "What?"

"Stupid makeup." Literally everything was becoming 'stupid' to her by this point. She sat up again and took another small sip before putting the bottle next to her again, finally examining both of her hands.

A small smirk appeared on Luke's face before he forced it to go away. He wasn't smiling at the obvious face that she had cried and smeared her makeup, but rather at the mannerisms she had that were growing on him. He glanced around the spot he stood at and caught sight of a box of tissues on the nightstand next to the bed. He grabbed it and made his way to the other side of the bed where Kim sat, handing the entire box to her.

"Thanks," she said, after looking up at him curiously for a moment, and took the offering. His actions genuinely confused her. He could have left after she snapped at him again or he could have snapped back, but he didn't do either. Instead, he stayed. Part of her needed that, as an assurance that she was still worth being around even when in a lousy mood. And now not only was he staying, but he was trying to attend to her needs, small and singular as they may be. After being with Daniel for nearly two years she had almost forgotten how other men could act entirely different towards her when she wasn't actively seeking it out. Coming back to the present, she ripped a few tissues from the box and pulled her legs up and criss-crossing them over one another. "If you're gonna stay, you can sit down, y'know?" She thought of adding in 'I don't bite, remember?' but quickly dropped the playful idea when she remembered his words from outside.

Luke gingerly took a seat on the bed just a foot away from her and watched as she began to remove her makeup. He tried to envision her free of any cosmetics whatsoever and what he saw in his mind was still absolutely stunning to him. His own vision made him wonder how any man could be okay with themselves for bringing such a beautiful woman to tears. It was then that the way to formulate his question came to him. He took in a slow, long breath through his nose, preparing to engage in conversation yet not let her know that he was hesitant to what her reaction may be... which he most certainly was with the new side she revealed to him outside. "Kim, I wanna ask you something, and you don't have to answer. I just want you to think about it, that's all."

Kim stopped what she was doing and looked at him for a moment, a hint of caution clearly written across her face as she surveyed him. "Okay," she replied in a wary tone and continued to wipe away her mascara while attempting not to poke herself in the eye.

"Think about what you know about Daniel now, and ask yourself if you knew all of that when you first met him, would you have ever dated him to begin with?"

She once again stopped her attempts at blindly removing her makeup and inwardly wished that she had something to block the view of her face from him because his question instantly got her thinking and she didn't want him pulling any psychology magic on her.

It wasn't a bad question overall, it really wasn't, and the idea had crossed Kim's mind several times throughout the rocky course of her relationship with Daniel. However, she had always asked herself why she was going back and never questioned if she should have ever been with him to begin with. The 'why go back?' question was easy to answer for herself because, truth be told, Daniel had a lot of things going for him and they were all attractive to anyone with a brain... and a sex drive. He was a babe, could probably sweet-talk the panties off a nun if he wanted to, and he was the kind of bad boy that women couldn't help but gravitate towards. Then again, the question of 'would I ever have dated him in the first place if I knew what I know now?' brought about a heap of its own points, ones that introduced at least five negatives for every positive she could attach to her ex. For all the charm he had, Daniel also had a hell of a time containing it to just one woman and just knowing that little fact alone would have been more than enough for Kim to make a different decision when considering dating him.

Kim uncrossed her legs and stood up in a hurry, making her way to the dresser in front of the bed so she had a mirror to work with. Again, something about what he was doing made her uncomfortable, but this time she realized why it was making her feel that way and that was even more shocking to her. His ability to get into her head and figure her out from the the inside, his newly exposed power to simply ask the right question, his bizarre fascination with psychology...

All of those things didn't make her feel uncomfortable because she found them creepy or invasive; they made her feel uncomfortable because she actually found all of those things about him to be appealing. Kim could take being attracted to him for his looks; he was easy on the eyes and that was a normal thing to be drawn to, but being hooked by weird, borderline geeky qualities? That was, without a doubt, a first for her.

 _A lot of things are going to be a first for me now that I'm done with Daniel,_ she mused, looking in the mirror at the less-than-spectacular job she had done at removing her smudged eyeliner. Just the thought of her ex lit a fire of anger in her now that she was shown a completely different way of viewing their relationship. She felt tricked, and worst of all she felt that she was also the trickster in this scenario.

Luke's back was still turned to Kim as he sat on the bed. Had he turned around to view her like he had told himself to, he would have eased his next segue far differently. Unfortunately, he chose to speak before assessing the situation. "You know what you should do?" There was a smile on his face as he awaited her to ask 'what?' so he could share his fun idea and give her control of the situation.

Still wracked with anger, Kim let loose on the only person she could in that moment. "What, Luke?" she scornfully spit out. "My life is a fucking drag and now you're gonna tell me what to do?"

Kim turned around, her temper unrestrained, and continued on after locking eyes with the expressionless blue-eyed teen who had just turned in his seat. "I mean seriously, you think you know all about me now? We talk on a couch for a while and suddenly you know my whole life's story or somethin'?"

"No, I don't. Not even close," Luke replied calmly, in a stoic tone. Kim's brash emotional slide didn't faze him as bad as it had the first time, and with what he assumed she had went through tonight, he was going to give her as many passes with it as she needed, but he needed her to understand that he wasn't trying to be dominant towards her in any sense of the word. "But maybe I want to, ya know?"

Kim's face changed suddenly, going from irate to questioning. Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, the taut line her lips had formed eased somewhat, and her glare dimmed to a stare. She still had a hint of overt pensiveness, but her piqued curiosity was overtaking her features.

 _He really wants to know... about me?_

Luke continued, doing something he seldom done and just letting his words flow without thought of restraining them or the reaction they may receive. "When I look at you, I see beauty, but when I talk with you? I see someone who's got a hell of a lot more to offer than looks, Kim."

Kim spun around again, nearly on her heels, and looked into the mirror as her face gained a shade of red. It was the umpteenth time she had blushed tonight, but at least this was the first time it was due to flattery.

"What-" Kim began but had to clear her throat to continue. "What were you gonna say I should do, again? Ya know... before I got... mad." It was all she could think of to talk about after an agonizingly long thirty-seconds of silence since he had last spoke. He had thrown her off guard several times in the course of their discussions, and she never knew how to get back on course. This was the closest she could think to doing just that.  
As much as her mood had swung from one extreme to the other tonight, the last thing he wanted to do was stop talking to Luke. He somehow always found a way to make the pendulum swing in a way that made her feel good. She was hopeful the question was enough to recapture his attention, regardless of what took it away. After he shifted to face her with a small smirk on his face and a gleam in his eye, the letdown she was beginning to feel just vanished.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _This note is for Rainbowness2. Hello. Since I cannot send you a PM back, this is the only way I can really get back to you. While I appreciate (and am quite flattered) that you like my work(s) enough to ask a specific F &G fic request of me, I am sorry to say that I do not think I will be able to fulfill said request. _

_Try as I might, it is hard for me to place myself in the shoes of the 'geeks' of F &G for anything longer than a few hundred words (and most of the time I'm just lucky enough to have that kind of success with Bill) and a 'character X reader' type of fic is far out of my comfort zone and skill set (for right now at least). Again, I am honored that you asked, but I just can't see myself being able to do any justice to your request._


	10. Chapter 9 - Part 2 (Shared POV)

**Chapter 9: Part 2 (Kim/Luke POV)**

Luke released a laugh, somewhat relieved that they were getting back on track and his words were not thrown back in his face in insulting rejection. "I was gonna say you should do something you've always wanted to do, but never actually did while you were with Daniel."

Kim squinted into the mirror, confused by the suggestion. "What good would that do?"

"It'll get your mind off the bad shit of tonight."

She considered the idea again, warming up to it as the thought rolled around in her head. "So what should I do then?"

"I, uh..." He had not expected that kind of answer. This was merely to distract her from her ex and his new plaything and maybe help her begin to move on, but he didn't know how to provide a step-by-step guide to the process. "That's really up to you, Kim. I mean, have fun and go wild if ya want. Hell, you're completely independent now; no trying to meet someone in the middle if you don't want to. Go out and scream lyrics at the top of your lungs to radio songs, play on all the kids toys at Tate Park, or go cover houses with toilet paper and eggs if that's your thing. Just whatever, ya know? Whatever makes you happy and you didn't get to really enjoy while you were with him."

Kim looked at herself in the mirror for another moment, realizing that she would need more than her reflection and a dry tissue to correct her makeup mess, before silently turning around and walking towards the bed. She sat down next to Luke, pulling on leg up and letting the other one dangle off the side of the bed.

"I dunno," she confessed in a quiet voice. "A lot of the things I liked to do, I liked to do with Daniel, ya know? We were together for a while, so whatever I didn't do around him anymore I just kinda stopped caring about."

"There's gotta be something," Luke nudged, making sure to push her but not steer her in any one direction.

"Well, okay," Kim smiled briefly, "when I was younger, way before I met stupid Daniel, I liked to..."

Luke gave her a moment to continue, but understood she may need a bit more prodding to truly get herself started. "You liked to..."

"Dance, alright?" she answered, looking slightly embarrassed and nostalgic at the same time. "I used to dance a lot before Daniel; and I wasn't good or anything, it was just fun. He never really liked to though, so I just stopped, too. I know it's dumb and girly, but-"

"It's not," Luke encouraged with a laugh. "I mean, I may not go out and boogie down all by my lonesome, but hell, I'll always dance with someone if I can find a partner."

"Yeah?" Kim wore a flickering smile once again. "Maybe I'll go dancing sometime then. Get my mind off all this shit."

They looked at each other for a few moments, eyes zig-zagging all over when they caught sight of one another staring. The silence was awkward and bothersome, as if both were trying to make sure they didn't say or do anything that wouldn't sit right... so they both just stalled instead.

"So, um..." Luke began, somewhat timidly, as he looked down as he feet and nervously shifted them from side to side.

"I had a- a really good time tonight, ya know?" Kim interrupted, his hesitancy making her a bit nervous that he was about to make his exit. After a moment of considering the full extent of the night's events, she added to her remark, "I mean, at least during the times we were together."

Luke looked up at her and smiled; the expression seemed absolutely beaming on him.

"Here," Kim said, reaching her hands behind her neck to untie the cowry-shell choker that was wrapped around it. She held out the necklace with one hand, swiping a lock of loose hair behind her ear with the other. "Think of it as, like, a reminder of me or something, yeah?"

Luke took the object, making sure to run is fingers across Kim's outstretched hand as he did so. "So, a souvenir, huh?" he grinned, looking at the band. "Not so sure it'll fit around my neck," he laughed.

Kim laughed as well, having no doubt that he was correct in that. The thing barely fit around her neck anymore and his was much thicker and fairly muscular.

"But..." He began to whorl the choker around his right wrist, making two full loops before he ran out of material. "Maybe you can help me tie it? Kinda impossible with one hand, let alone my dumb-ass left hand." He knew the seashell necklace would look a little odd adorning his wrist as a bracelet instead, but he really didn't care. Considering how a lot of his peers were dressing to display their connection with and fondness for new wave music, he hardly thought his unique arm band would catch much attention. Besides, it was from a girl he liked. A girl he _really_ liked, so it didn't matter.

Kim smirked and shook her head, taking the ends of the necklace from his grip and stringing them together into a solid knot.

Luke looked at their combined effort, smiling as he turned his wrist over a few times. "Now, I wouldn't feel right leaving your neck bare after that-"

 _Even though it is sexy as hell._

"-so I have a little memento for you, too."

He unclasped the silver cord holding the feng shui coin and brought it up from under his shirt. He held the piece up for her to see for a moment.

She smiled and turned around in her seat, collecting her long hair and holding it up and to the side to he could put the piece of jewelry on her himself.

He fastened the necklace a moment later, painfully fighting an inner-battle not to lean down and kiss his way down the top of her neck while doing so.

As satisfying as it would have been to hook up and feed his hunger, there was a loud warning bell in his brain that cautioned him that that would only lead to the road of a rebound guy or worse... she might simply associate his actions with her ex. The bell was ringing for a reason, Luke supposed, as he had been in one-night stand situations before and never even batted an eye at pumping the brakes like this.

 _This girl... she's something special, man._

He realized that she was also a bit of a powder keg, but with how quickly she had calmed after exploding, he also rationalized that her outbursts were more situational than anything. Furthermore, dealing with Keith had given him a plethora of experience in knowing how to deal with those conditions and not crumble under pressure.

It was fascinating to him how she worked that way, being governed entirely from her heart, because he felt he was ruled completely from his head and somehow he wanted to make their contradicting aspects work together.

Kim picked up the medallion and looked at it after he finished and curiosity struck her almost immediately. She had never seen anything like it and wanted to know more about the half-dollar-sized coin in her hand, as well as the other smaller circles surrounding it.

"What is it?" she asked, turning around to face him again, but still gazing down at her new pendant.

"It's a feng shui coin surrounded by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. I got it when I was a kid and I swear it had brought me good luck ever since I've had it. I mean just look at tonight- I met you."

Kim could have sworn her heart skipped a beat at his words, and she kept her head angled down to avoid letting him see how much his comment made her blush.

"I know it's ugly as sin, too, so I wouldn't be offended if you hid it under your shirt like I usually do."

Kim scoffed and looked up at him with a bit of a scowl. "I like it! I really do. Not gonna hide it away."

She clutched the ornament in her hand again and peered at it. There were odd characters on both the front and the back of the coin, and the ones on the back had lines above each one, some broken and some solid. "What do all these things mean, though?"

Luke grinned and stared at her for a moment, remaining silent until she looked back at him with a cast of expectation about her face.

"Tell ya what," he offered, "give me your phone number and a promise to come to a party with me next weekend and we can find someplace private for me to tell you all about it."

Kim let loose with an unexpected laugh and felt her face flush again. "Yeah, alright. I'd like that," she agreed and recited her phone number to him. That was definitely the kind of plan she could get excited about for next weekend. She watched him silently repeat the numbers to himself a few times until it seemed they were down pat to him.

Finally finding the confidence to affirm something she was curious about, Kim spoke up. "Did you really-" She stopped herself and looked down at her hands, a rare case of hesitance overtaking her. "Did you really mean that stuff you said about thinking I have more to offer than looks?"

"Every word," he assured instantly, without as much as a waver in his voice. His smile dropped, but the look of sincerity on his face left no room for doubt about his confirmation.

She brought her head up slightly, shifting her eyes up so it almost appeared as if she was sheepishly peeking at him.

"And if Daniel can't see that, if he doesn't care enough to hold onto that, then maybe he just doesn't deserve you."

Kim smiled and lifted her head back up completely. She knew full-well that Luke only had half of the story and she wasn't nearly as innocent and deceived in the relationship as he was making it sound, but he was also doing on hell of a job of building her back up and making her believe in herself again, and there was no way she was going to stop him from doing that... especially after Daniel had so effortlessly broken her.

He smiled back at her, the moonlight painting his face with it's soft hue and, as he shifted his gaze to scan down her body and back up to her eyes.

"And, uh, just who does deserve me then?" she asked, a tinge of flirtation entering her voice at the utterance of the question. She couldn't help herself around him in that regard it seemed, and the fact that he easily made her _want_ to flirt only reinforced her drive to do so. It could've turned into an endless loop that she wouldn't have minded being caught in.

"Someone better... obviously," he replied.

There was a cockiness, an absoluteness to his answer that caused a tingle to grow in Kim's stomach and warmth to radiate through her whole body. While his answer wasn't as straightforward as she would have hoped, she found that she liked it a lot more than what she was expecting.

Her smile turned to a grin as the warmth shifted to a desirous need that swarmed her before nestling in her core. She wanted to satisfy that feeling. She wanted to satisfy that feeling right then and there with him. Thoughts of waving her hands across the comforter and sending all of the glass items to the floor with a crash before grabbing hold of Luke's shirt and pulling him down on top of her ran rampant through her mind. She damn near acted on them (it was all she could do _not_ to) when he grazed her cheek with his hand, softly caressing her skin as his fingers skimmed down her ear to her lobe. It was a sensitive spot for her; one that, if touched right, could send her over the edge just as easily as if someone had nuzzled their lips to the side of her neck. And Luke was certainly touching it right. She tiled her head to the side slightly, gladly leaning into his massaging motion.

Though she tried her hardest to swallow the moan that had instantly worked its way up her throat, part of it still escaped, lightly rumbling off her lips. And then, almost as if he had read her mind (which she had no doubt he honestly could by this point), he let his hand slip down further, touching her neck, once again caressing her with a connotation of intimacy.

The two drew closer to one another, heads almost leaning against one another and lips so near they could just about feel them connect.

 _This is it! This is what should have happened tonight instead of all the other shit that did,_ Kim told herself, closing the distance as their lips were mere millimeters apart.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened, cascading the room in a stream of light and noise drifting down from the hallway. Kim and Luke quickly separated, looking to see who was coming into the room. A short, curly-haired boy turned the corner, clutching a couple of blue glass birds in his arms, and looked both shocked and disgusted to see other people in the room.

"Wha- what are you guys doing?!" the newcomer half-asked, half-accused in a squeaky voice. "That's my parents' bed!"

"Gross!" Kim shouted, jolting from the bed and holding her hands out in front of her as if she was going to push the piece of furniture away.

"Worst timing ever, man," Luke mumbled as he stood up as well, though nowhere near in the hurry that Kim had.

The young, short kid didn't say anything more to the two; he merely continued to wear his look of loathing as he sat the two glass pieces among the others.

A memory sprang forth in her head as she stared at the kid for a moment, one from many years ago when Kim's father had left her and her mother high and dry for some other woman. Cookie, her mother, had said something that had stuck in her daughter's mind ever since she heard it.

 _"You know, Kimmie, one of the hardest parts of life is tryin' to decide whether to walk away or try harder."_

Kim knew what she was going to do without even more than a moment's thought on the matter: both. She folded her hand over Luke's coin, telling herself she was going to walk away from Daniel, and try harder with her next relationship.

Things were going to be different this time around, she decided. She absolutely needed them to be. Different... and slow. Even if it wasn't with Luke, she wanted her next relationship to grow gradually. She wanted to get to know the person and find out if they were actually worth being with before she grew too attached to care... again.

If the situation wasn't so strange already, Kim would have laughed at her sudden shift in thinking, her changed point of view. The geeky little kid had actually just done her a huge favor by busting in on them before things got too steamy.

Thinking quick on his feet, Luke took hold of Kim's hand and began to lead her out of the room. "Com'on."

"Where?"

"Let's dance," Luke smiled, looking back at her and watching a smile reform on her lips as well.

Dance? Yeah, that was the kind of different and slow Kim Kelly could get used to getting used to.

* * *

 _Author's Note: And that is a wrap! I had had something else envisioned for my ending, but once I had written the ending you just read above, I knew I was going to have a hard time topping the feeling of closure to the night that it gave. I did toy around with the idea of another chapter, but I ultimately just took the parts of it that I wanted in my story and incorporated them into chapter 9 (which is why it is in two parts). I hope all who read this enjoyed this side of the story!_

 _I want to say thank you to wolfgirl2001 once again because she's the one who allowed me to come on this collaboration adventure with her and I really couldn't have had more fun with it! It was gratifying, exciting, thought-provoking and sometimes exhausting all at once, but it is also something I look forward to someday attempting again with other authors._

 _If you haven't already, be sure to check out the other half of this night through wolfgirl2001's amazing writing ability: "...and Brassieres"_


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